Sentient Love
by Flora Winters
Summary: Dreams lead a haunted Cloud Strife back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A new threat to the planet wants this avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence Zack-Cloud, Cid-Vincent
1. Chapter 1

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter One**

The whispering silence of The Forgotten City of the Ancient Cetra was eerie. Not a single creature made a sound for there was none to make any. His only company was the trees and the other strange plants that glowed during the night. He was always taken in by their phosphorescent hues.

He walked like a phantom amidst the white glow of the tall trees, not making a single sound as he took each silent step. For over 2,000 years this place had been his universe. The past haunted him, yet he was the ghost. A remnant frozen in time, seemingly doomed to forever wonder the empty streets to nowhere. He was the shadows and moonbeams that took human shape in the warm nightly mists between the trees. He longed to leave this place, but he was bound to it. As if by some powerful spell, he could not pass the boundaries that held him locked within. He was bound to the trees, the stones, the waters, and the very air. He was the spirit of The Forgotten Capital.

Except for the wind and water, nothing ever moved. Stasis was all he knew. The endless silence was maddening, yet he did not go mad. He didn't know how to.

He was old. So very, very old. When he would gaze upon himself in any reflective surface, nothing looked back at him. No surface would reflect an image to him. It was as though he existed without any existence at all.

_Will I ever die? Will I ever cease to be?_

He already knew the answer. The answer was given to him long, long ago. He was the sacrifice that had to be made.

_I am one with Lifestream. There is no death. It is all a thinly veiled illusion wrapped in strangling fear. Gaia holds and preserves me. Mother of All. She who governs and protects all existence._

Upon his awakening, he discovered that he could manipulate the physical elements within his bound space of existence. It was as though he were a god. Limited, but still semi divine.

He could ignite flames with a thought. He could call down lightning with a mute gesture. He could freeze the surface of the lake just by dancing upon the surface of it. Just by projecting his will, he could make the ground quake and the wind to make the tallest tree bow or be snapped. Many a century he explored the powers of the day and the forces of the night. He even studied the time in between them. With all his power, he protected and preserved The Forgotten City. And over all the endless time, he grew bored.

So, he erected himself a bed and went to sleep. He slept and he slept until he heard a small voice call out to him in the darkness of his own dreamy design. A name he nearly forgot existed. It was a small prayer on a sweet scented breeze. A beautiful song to Gaia and then his name again.

Prayer invoked him.

Tears stirred him.

Blood opened his eyes.

_Holy._

_Holy. Holy. Holy._

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Cloud dreams.

Cloud Strife dreams of a lot of things.

Things that would make normal people jump awake in fright, running from the imaginary safety of their warm beds where the nasty creatures of stink and rot can never touch them with their razor sharp words of guilt or those rows of teeth in the darkness. When he is asleep, he can feel their rotting hands all over his naked body. They touch him, grope him, stabbing their maggot infested fingers inside him and lay him bare for all to judge. The dead crawl all over him like swarming flies on a fallen dumbapple. The hungry dead look at him through empty sockets that drip with venomous worms and poisonous scorpions. Those putrid lips cover him with rancid kisses that smell of the foulest decay. They smother him, drowning him in their moldering.

He screams. He screams and he screams. He screams as they sink their rotten, broken teeth into his supple flesh. The sound of his own skin being ripped open by careless claws fill his horrified ears, as those hungry maws tear away at him, snapping his bones with cavity filled teeth. He hears himself being devoured by all his victims, shrieking, screaming, and crying out upon a lake of fresh blood for somebody to save him before he's pulled under those molten depths.

"Are you not hungry tonight, Cloud?" Tifa asked, bringing him for but a blessed moment out of his never-ending nightmares.

Mako filled eyes looked up from the untouched salad. He shook his head. "No."

"Would you like me to fix you something else?" She asked, slowly rising from her seat with a non-defeated look on her face. "How about some soup or a sandwich?"

Cloud looked back down at his salad again. She had gone through so much trouble to make it. She had marinated the grilled chicken slices that were lying on the green spinach leaves for hours, and the dressing was a secret recipe. It was something she usually served to guests who frequented 7th Heaven.

He slowly lifted his fork and picked up a piece of the yummy looking chicken with it. It smelled really good. He went to put it up to his mouth and suddenly dropped the fork with a clatter. His breath froze in his lungs as he quickly pushed his chair away from the table.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked in concern.

There was a finger on his fork. It was wiggling, looking as it were desperately trying to get free and have a go at him. It was beginning to rot right before his wide eyes and the salad was nothing but a plate of spiders and centipedes.

"Fuck me," he hissed, turning away his head, closing his eyes against the horrible vision.

That had been a mistake. He fell out of his chair with a yelp because a thousand hands came at him from out of the darkness behind his eyelids. He landed on his back, rolling over onto his side. Tifa was there, taking him into her arms, holding him.

"You're okay, Cloud," she said, helping him to calm down. "There is nothing there."

"Why do you let me stay?" He asked, looking up into her concerned eyes. "I'm insane. I see things. Why do you choose to take care of a crazy person?"

Tifa smiled her smile. "I already told you why."

She did? When? He didn't remember that.

"What?" He asked, looking around him, seeing that his salad was once again a mere salad on the table.

However, the glass next to it happened to have a brown serpent slithering out of it. It looked to be dripping with blood.

He dug his fingers into his golden flesh. He didn't even seem to wince.

"Does it really matter?" She asked, helping him back to his feet. "Do you want me to run you a bath?"

Cloud tightened his hold on her. He could still see his face looking back at him from the bathroom mirror. All of his skin had been missing. His reflection had been nothing buy muscle, tissue, and grinning teeth. He had looked away, only to see the bathtub filled with slithering serpents. They had all be different shapes, sizes, and colors. They had all been fighting and eating each other.

"Yes," Cloud answered, suddenly jumping in fright when a door slammed shut somewhere in the back. "What was that?"

"I opened the windows earlier to let the heat out," she said, letting him go.

"But," he said, grabbing hold of his black t-shirt with tight fists. "It's dark out. Why are the windows open?"

"I will go close them," she told him.

"NO!" Cloud yelled, pulling on his shirt, ripping it a bit. "Don't go back there! It'll get you!"

He was really beginning to panic now. All the windows were supposed to be closed and locked up tight at night. She knew that. There were things out there. Things that wanted to get him. They were all trying to get him. The dead were trying to get him. They wanted to fucking eat him.

"Cloud Strife," Tifa calmly said. "Nothing is going to get you. I won't let them."

He followed along behind her, jumping away from the snapping serpent that was slithering through his salad. It thought it could hide in there and get him later. Well, it was wrong. He knew it was there. It couldn't fool him.

"See, Cloud?" She asked, leading the way into the storeroom. She walked over the closed the window, locking it. "Nothing is going to get you."

Right as she said that, he jumped back against a shelf of dried goods, yelping when a face was suddenly pressed up against the glass. The flesh was dripping like candle wax from the blackened bones. The shrieking man was on fire. He was burning right outside the window.

"STOP IT!" Cloud screamed, falling to his knees, pulling at his hair. "STOP IT!"

The burning man was screaming. He was screaming in so much pain. His melting hands were smacking against the glass, trying to break it. He was yelling Cloud's name.

"I'M GOING TO GET YOU, STRIFE! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"It is only the wind, Cloud," Tifa quickly soothed, kneeling down before him, struggling to keep his hands from clawing at his face.

_It is only the wind? Yeah, right! Tell that to the fucking dead guy banging against the goddamn window. He's melting right before my fucking eyes. Oh, god! Make it stop. Please, make it stop!_

"Come on," Tifa said, pulling him to his feet. "Let's just go to bed…"

Cloud allowed her to lead him from the storeroom, but he did look back. There was nobody at the window. There was no burning man trying to break in.

_He must be running around to the front now…_

"I'll stay until you fall asleep," she said, leading him into his little bedroom.

Cloud had her check the sheets for creepy crawlies. He had her check under the bed for the dead before he would even step foot into the room. He brushed his teeth and climbed into the twin size bed.

Tifa took a seat in the chair beside the bed, smiling into his handsome face. "Goodnight, Cloud."

It was moments like this that Cloud was truly the loneliest. His bed used to be bigger and someone had shared it with him.

_The dead can't come back…at least…not the way we long for them to…_

"Sweet dreams, Cloud," Tifa whispered, and started humming.

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Shimmering lights were glittering down through the fine cracks in the ceiling of the old church that was forgotten down in the slums. He was standing in the midst of all the beautiful yellow flowers that had been so delicately planted and lovingly cared for. Their sweet scent permeated the warm air with a lovely intoxication.

Wisps of emerald-green lights flickered through the air all around him. They were so warm, and there she was. She was just standing a few feet away from where he was.

Strong arms embraced him from behind, holding him ever so tenderly as she smiled ever so brightly at him. Her eyes reminded him of molten green light and they shown with such comforting bliss.

If this was a dream, it was the best dream he'd ever had in a really long time. A gentle kiss was placed on the back of his neck, and that ever so familiar embrace was slowly releasing him.

"No!" He cried, trying to grab those big hands. "I don't want you to leave! Please! Not again! Don't leave me, ZACK!"

Cloud opened his eyes with a start.

The bedroom he was in was terribly familiar. It was so silent. The eerie silence he would never be allowed to forget. The Shin-Ra mansion had a way of closing out the sounds of the world beyond its huge wooden doors.

_How did I get here? I don't remember. Am I still dreaming? Did I run away? _

He could no longer remember. His view of reality was distorted, like trying to see into every piece of a shattered mirror.

This place always called out to him through nightmares filled with lonely terror.

Rising from the bed, he could hear the sound of music being played from somewhere in the large mansion. There was someone playing the grand piano in the old ballroom.

Fear trailed down his spine.

It was probably one of the many denizens that were doomed to perpetually haunt this place. Spirits and ghouls of all the failed experiments.

A cool breeze blew across his naked chest, causing him to shiver as he looked over at the window that suddenly blew open. A beautiful voice was singing on the haunting air. There were so many spirits in this place. He could hear them whispering from every shadow, from every unguarded corner. But, why wasn't fear squeezing at his heart? Where was all the corpses? Why was nothing trying to tear him apart?

The voice was so beautiful.

His feet carried him across the cold floor to the open window. The velvet sky above was alight with the blazing brilliance of a billion shimmering stars.

_He used to love looking up at the stars with me on nights just like this one. There was always a story behind every different one he'd point out to me. _

Cloud looked for the two he had said were the exact color of his eyes. He found them and they were both gazing down at him with their balmy blue radiance.

"_You have the most beautiful eyes in the world, Cloud," he had told the blond with all the love in his heart. _

Cloud could see the sable-haired man turning around, smiling his angelic smile that was just for him.

"_They are like those twins up there. Burning eternally with their mysterious magic."_

Cloud bit his bottom lip.

"_It is as if the gods deemed you to possess the most beautiful eyes ever."_

A warm hand touched his naked shoulder, causing him to spin around with his heart in his throat. There was nobody there. He bit his bottom lip again in order to keep it from trembling and that was when the pain stabbed at him like a dagger.

He turned to the closed bedroom door with wet eyes. He had to see who was singing. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here.

The silk drape tickled his back like playful fingers and he quickly bolted towards the door. He reached out, pulled, and it opened for him with a groaning creak. Slowly, he stepped out into the hall and the door slammed shut behind him like a distant echo of thunder. It nearly caused him to jump right out of his skin.

Piano music flowed all around him and the man's voice was calling him like ocean waves call to a siren. Cloud could see and hear him all around as he walked down the long hallway to the grand staircase. He could hear the shrill screeching of vampire bats and see the gaping jaws of angry ghosts.

Why were they not attacking him? They should have been swarming to get him.

To his surprise, Cloud found himself shrugging with pure indifference towards them. This act was totally unlike him at all. It was a though he was suddenly brave again.

_Without Zack, what use do I have for a world? Perhaps this is why they do not attack me now. They now see that I no longer care about living. Do they think me a brother now?_

It was sad to think that this place once held such horrors for him. It wasn't scary at all now. There wasn't a goddamn thing here that could hurt him anymore.

_There are only memories of you saving me. Protecting me. Loving me._

Cloud began his descent down the dust coated steps. The piano music swelled and the ghouls didn't come near him. It was as if they were ushering him, escorting him.

_Don't be afraid_

_Don't be alarmed_

_In the end of the night_

_You're in my arms_

It was the memories that held the terrors deep within their sorrowful darkness. He could feel those bloody arms reaching out to hold him close. He was dying. He was watching Zack die all over again. There so many bullet holes.

He walked across the marble foyer and he could see the two of them in the back of that old man's truck. Zack was holding him tightly in his arms, going on about how pretty the blue sky was above their heads. He was so excited. All he could talk about was their future. He had painted Cloud such a pretty fairytale. It had been so bright, so full of promises, and now it was dead…like him. Like all beautiful dreams, they were over the moment you're forced to wake up and smell the burning coffee.

Cloud froze in his tracks when the music stopped. There was a man sitting before the ivory keys. His broad back was to him. His tall frame was cast in shadow.

"Who are you?' He demanded, angry that he was being disturbed. "Turn around or I'll blow your goddamn brains out your forehead!"

He didn't have a gun or weapon on him, but the intruder didn't have to know that.

The man chuckled.

Cloud paled.

"No…"

"You're still as loud as ever, Chocobo Head," that voice said, and the figure in the shadows turned around.

Cloud's eyes widened. "Zack…"

Soft moonlight passed across Zack's face as he rose to his large feet, walking through a sea of twinkling green orbs. The spirits parted in his graceful wake as he pulled Cloud into his muscular arms.

"Oh, god…" Cloud whispered.

He was so warm. He smelled just like the pretty yellow flowers in the forgotten church.

Zack started to move and the two of them were dancing in an endless field of golden flowers.

"Don't leave me again," Cloud whispered, holding onto him tightly, resting his head against his broad chest. "Please, don't let me go this time. Don't walk away. Not with that smile…"

_So don't you worry_

_Just rest your head_

_Coz in the end of the night_

_We'll be together again_

The past is dead, gone, lost forever, and yet it still sang to him like a voice in the loneliest of places. It reached out, touched him with gentle caresses in the darkest of nights. The voices, they whisper and they pull him in deeper. Oh, how he wished he would never wake up, but, like always, Zack let him go with a loving smile on his eternally beautiful face.

_So come close, close to me_

_And I'll come closer to you_

_Coz in the end of the night_

_When all we have is gone_

_Coz in the end of the night_

_When I can be with you_

Tears streamed from his glowing eyes.

_I'm not in Nibelheim. I'm not dancing in the arms of my only love. I'm just lying on my bed of stones, in the arms of a rotting corpse. I can feel the flies on my skin, snakes hissing at me feet, and things crawling in my hair, menacing my ears with their deceitful hissings._

He began to laugh as he rolled over in bed and gazed into Zack's sightless eyes. His flesh was rotting and peeling right before Cloud's eyes. The flies were buzzing, crawling all over his bloated tongue. He smelled terrible and his flesh was all slimy under Cloud's trembling hands, coming off as he moved away.

Zack blinked and his left eye began to ooze out from its weeping socket and down his rotted cheek. He sucked in his tongue, scattering the flies as he smiled with teeth that were rotten and black. Maggots poured from his left socket and nostrils had he crawled on top of Cloud.

Cloud could feel his oozing hardness pressing down against him.

He began to laugh. He laughed hard and wild.

He was losing his goddamn mind.

No! Correction. It was fucking gone.

"Come on!" He cried, wrapping his arms around the zombie. "I no longer care! Fuck me! Fuck me with your rotting cock. I no longer give a fuck!"

_Please, let me die…_

"CLOUD!" A loud voice was yelling, and he could feel himself being shaken. "Wake the fuck up!"

He opened his eyes.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Cid was asking, looking down at him. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"

Cloud tossed back his head and howled with laughter. He could feel the snakes slithering around in his hair. They were in his brain.

He was about to tell Cid to fuck off when a shock went through his entire body and he fell back onto the bed with his eyes wide open and glowing as if a candle had been lit from within. Images flashed through his mind.

Glowing trees in the darkness, white orbs of light filling the darkness between them. Footprints of something invisible walking across still waters towards a temple made from a giant conch shell.

**COME TO ME**

Cloud opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

**COME TO ME NOW**

A staircase of light spiraling downwards to a city filled with glowing crystal spires.

**ARISE AND COME SWIFTLY**

Tifa burst into the room. "Cloud?" She asked, running to his bedside. "What's the matter? What is it?"

He shook his head back and forth, grabbing the bed sheets as tightly as he could. He saw her sinking. Sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Blood. So much blood. He was drowning in their blood.

_I love you, Chocobo Head._

Another violent shock went through his brain and he bolted upright on the bed, smacking his head right into Cid's jaw, sending the older man stumbling backwards cussing and holding his face.

**COME**

**COME**

**COME**

**To be continued…**

Please review and tell me what you think. I would greatly appreciate it. Cookies for everybody! Just don't mind the maggots.

~Flora

Note: Song lyrics belong to Zola Jesus. The song is called, "Night."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Two**

The weather was beautiful and the temperature in Costa Del Sol was 98 degrees and Yuffie had the air-conditioning in Casa del Cloud on full blast. It was hotter than Ifrit's nut sack and she glanced over at a calm and reserved Vincent Valentine. The guy could be crawling through a lava tube in the heart of an active volcano and still look as cool as a cucumber in a bath of ice cubes. He was reclining in a comfy looking chair with his bare, snowy feet propped up on the wooden table, looking as if he was right at home. She walked over and flicked his large toe with her index finger. He opened one eye, glancing up at her.

"Do you ever sweat?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, really wanting to know if he even possessed the glands to perspire. The guy's skin looked so perfect and flawless, she couldn't even make out a single pore on him.

He simply shrugged his broad shoulders and went back to what she assumed was his deep, dark brooding over things all…dark and broody. That was all the guy ever did. He'd speak two words or none at all, shrug, and then shoot something in the face if it got to be too annoying for him to tolerate. That was what sent a certain blond pilot scampering for his life.

"Pining for Cid much?" She muttered under her breath, turning her slender back to him.

She felt swift movement take place behind her, yet she knew Vincent had not moved a single muscle. "Explain." Vincent said in his most charming tone, which would have sent a lesser being diving through the nearest window.

"Nothing," she quickly responded, spinning around with her hands up in defense, confirming that the guy had not moved at all. He was still reclining the way she had left him. "I was merely saying Cid and the others will be here soon. Tifa was going on and on about how the beach and the sun will do Cloud a world of good. It is always so hot and sunny here. Nighttime takes forever to arrive and everything is always lit up."

Shadows passed across Vincent's amber-red eyes and he diverted his piercing gaze. "He never did like unlit places."

"Exactly!" Yuffie said, jumping up into the air, throwing her toned arms wide with giggling excitement. "We can all go snorkeling every day, sunbathe, build sandcastles, collect seashells, shop till we drop, and bar hop all night long. I'll keep him so busy, he won't have time to be paranoid about every little shadow and sound."

Vincent awarded her with an extremely rare smirk that quickly vanished like a drop of rain on baking hot cement. When he closed his eyes again, she quickly went over to where she had slung down her duffle bag and zipped it open. She pulled out snorkelers, one and two piece bathing suits, glossy magazines to pass the time while sunbathing, and random sized ninja stars that happened to have found their way in as well.

She carefully looked over her shoulder to make sure Vincent wasn't watching her and she reached into the very bottom of her bag and gently pulled out a small picture frame. It was a picture she had taken of a dark-headed, blue-eyed guy who had saved her from a rampaging, demon possessed chocobo back in the day. Tall, handsome, and awkward as hell. She had taken it the moment the poor, kind-hearted sap had realized she'd tricked him into giving up his hard earned treasure. He was laughing with his right hand behind his head. That had been the last time she'd ever seen him.

"I had so much fun with you, Zack. You answered every single text and beat every single monster." She whispered, giggling as she slid the frame back into its hiding place. "You always let me win."

She had found the photo while cleaning out her room of things she no longer needed. When Cloud arrived, she was going to ask him if he knew the guy. She could have sworn she heard him mutter his name once, back when they'd been staying at an inn, but had never really given it another thought until now.

Rising to her feet, she picked up her bathing suits and went to the bathroom to try them on. She wanted to know which one she looked her very best in. And she was going to make absolutely sure she didn't stand next to Tifa while photos were being taken.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, she frowned. Standing next to Tits would make her look ten years old.

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The wind whipped around Cloud as he walked across the deck of the speeding Highwind. Cid had rebuilt the flying vessel. He had made it even bigger and shinier than ever. It was the older man's pride and joy. Freedom to fly anywhere on the planet.

Down below, the vast ocean mirrored the blue of the endless sky. The very blue of those eyes that had captivated him and held him a willing prisoner in a cage of warmth and sunny smiles. He put his gloved hands onto the railing and gazed down into the azure depths.

_I can't sleep. Hey, Spiky! Tell me a story. _

_Spiky? You've got room to talk._

_That accent…Where are you from?_

_Nibelheim. Why are you laughing? Where are you from?_

_Me? Gongaga. What's so funny? You know Gongaga?_

_No. But it is such a backwater name!_

_Ditto Nibelheim!_

_Once upon a time…_

_I've heard that one already._

_Oh, shut up!_

**COME TO ME**

His mako blue-green eyes snapped open and he turned his gaze north. He could see storm clouds gathering in the distance and could smell the lightning.

"What is it, Cloud?" Tifa asked, stepping up beside him, looking in the same direction he was gazing.

"A storm in the north," he said, pulling back away from the railing.

He hated storms. He hated the rain most of all. Every time it rained…he would go to a very dark place.

"How is Cid's jaw?" Cloud asked a little sheepishly, not making eye contact with her just yet. He still felt really embarrassed at how he had totally lost it in front of the guy. It had made him feel like he was a little kid again.

"Cid is tough," Tifa chuckled. "His head is just as hard as yours."

Cloud gave a tiny smile and Tifa stepped up, wrapping her arms around him. "You're okay, Cloud. Nothing is going to hurt you. They wouldn't be able to. You're too strong."

That made him laugh out loud. Him? Strong?

Physically, yes. He could cut a man in two with one swing of his Ultima Weapon and toss small cars at people's heads. He was also fast enough to dodge bullets. He even caught one once and sent it flying back at the guy's shoulder.

Magically, yes. He could summon powerful entities to level whole cities if he chose to do so. Not to mention all the elemental magic he had mastered. He could rule the world. It was a good thing Tifa had taken all the Materia away from him and locked it up someplace safe and secure. When he'd first gone crazy, he damn near leveled an entire sector in Midgar when a cat had jumped out at him. All the neighbors had moved, making him feel bad.

Mentally…he did like word searches. They kept him distracted for hours. He loved having the really big thick books to go through with different color markers. With one of those in his lap, it was all he could focus on. Nothing scary could sneak past and frighten him.

Emotionally, he was a fucking train wreck one right after another that everyone tuned in to watch at all hours. He was fine one minute and the next he was running away from all the bugs that came pouring out of a light fixture that no one else could see, or the bloodless corpses that would topple out of a closet.

He was never going to be fine, but the medication he was now taking was helping him in some ways. The doctor Tifa had made him see told him that plenty of sunlight and fresh air would do him a world of good.

"I guess buying beach front property during an apocalypse was a smart move on my part, huh?" He asked, hugging her back.

She laughed, giving him a tight squeeze, which nearly caused him to lose his breath. "I've read that it is a prime time to purchase real estate during an apocalypse. People sell for real cheap or just give it away, and then when everyone wakes up with the world still under their feet, those with the property make a killing in the job market. So, smart move, Mr. Strife."

She was right. He'd checked before leaving. He'd spent 300,000 gil on the place, now it was worth 3.4 million gil.

When she let him go, Cloud asked her how Cid was really doing. He'd not been in touch with anyone for months and last he heard Cid and Vincent had had a sort of falling out. More than likely it had been something totally stupid on Cid's part. He couldn't see Vincent doing anything stupid. The world would end first.

"He's the same as far as I can tell," she said, taking a step back from him, leaning back against the railing. "Still laughing and being perverted as usual."

Cloud nodded. "So he's miserable then?"

Tifa's shoulders dropped. "Definitely."

"What did he do?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shook her head. "I don't know. Nobody has said anything. And by nobody, I mean Yuffie."

Cloud knew that Yuffie couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Sure she was sneaky and crazier than a moogle high on mako dust, but to keep something like this a secret? The girl sure was loyal to Vincent. Either loyalty kept her mouth shut or the crimson figure had a bullet with her name on it if she did spill the beans.

"How much you wanna bet Cid was chatting up the ladies?" Tifa asked.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I bet he cheated at cards again."

**COME**

Cloud grabbed his head and stumbled back two steps before falling to his knees. His eyes stung behind his tightly sealed eyelids. His head had felt like it was going to explode that time.

Tifa was at his side. "What's wrong? What is it? What do you see?"

"Nothing," he gasped, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "My head just hurt really bad. Probably just a side effect or something."

It was true. He didn't see anything. He hadn't seen anything for days now.

The meds were doing their job. Just…that voice…

"Come on," she said, helping him to his feet. "Let's go back down and I'll fix you something to drink."

He allowed her to do that, but he gazed north. The sky was growing darker and darker.

He could see the lightning.

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Yuffie twirled about in her leafy green two-piece bathing suit and bounced out the open front door. She looked left and right. Everywhere she looked there was a beach bum standing about with their rippling muscles glistening in the sunlight. Their arms looked big enough to gnaw on for days.

"Today is the day," she said, giving the air a fist pump. "FUN TIME!" She spun around on the newly built veranda and called. "Come on, Vincent! They'll be landing soon."

Vincent stepped out onto the veranda and Yuffie did a complete double take. The guy was wearing form fitting crimson swimming trunks. It was the first time she had ever seen him not totally covered from head to foot. He looked like an alabaster statue come to life. Perfectly carved and proportioned with gorgeous detail. He had his hair tied back out of his pale face in a ponytail of shimmering darkness.

Vincent Valentine was a beautiful hunk. Why would he want to hide a body like that underneath all them clothes? His six pack was absolutely lickable and those pecks…

_You're an idiot, Cid._

She picked her jaw up off the ground. "Won't you burn?" She asked with concern. "I have sunscreen if you want to use it."

"No," he spoke, stepping out into the sun. His skin was as white as the sand on the beach. "Thank you." Those amber-red eyes took in the bright scenery with a sense of perpetual boredom. He walked by her and he smelled of something shadowy and tantalizingly spicy.

"Come on," she said, grabbing him by his golden claw, tugging him towards the stairs that led down to the bustling street. "I wanna be there when they land."

Vincent followed along willingly, which surprised her. Usually he put up more of a feigned struggle, by not allowing himself to be moved at all. The guy could float in the air like a feather or become heavier than a two ton rock.

The two of them walked through Costa Del Sol towards the dock where the Highwind would be landing. There were all kinds of colorful characters about.

_No wonder Cid loves this place so much, _Yuffie thought to herself, taking in the sites. _This place is liberal to the extreme._

"I gotta gig, mayn!" A guy was yelling at two muscle heads who were moving his equipment into a bar where rainbow flags were hanging all over the place. "Wut duh fuck iz dat thang?"

Yuffie ducked behind Vincent when something inside the bar exploded, shaking the whole establishment. Smoke poured out the open windows.

The swinging doors flew open and a woman came storming out madder than hellfire with a trail of smoke following her. "YOU GAWDDAMN IDIOTS!" She coughed and wheezed. "MELT MY FUCKING TITS OFF WHY DON'T YOU! THEY NEW!"

_Oh, that's a man._

Vincent snorted and Yuffie gawked. She'd never heard him do that before.

Lots of yelling was coming from inside.

"I GOTTA GIG TONIGHT, MAYN! DONE GONE BLOWN MAH SHIT UP! HOMEGURL ALMOST DEAD!"

The drag queen stormed back inside. "I am not dead you fucking moron! Don't you know how to do anything right? How long have we been together? Move your dumb ass and let a lady show you how it's done. Someone get a broom and clean that shit up! Just look at these scorch marks! I told you I wanted the wall to look flaming, not scorched and flattened like your last tramp's ass!"

_I wonder if Cid and Vincent will be like that one day, _Yuffie thought, continuing to lead the way to the dock. _Although, I can't see either of them wearing women's clothing._

"When they arrive, Yuffie," Vincent said, still allowing her to hold his claw. "Tell no one what I told you."

Yuffie sealed her lips and threw away the key. There was no way she'd betray Vincent's trust. She'd worked far too hard to earn it.

_Why did you have to do it though, Cid? You know how Vincent is. You knew he would never approve of such a thing and yet you went ahead and did it anyway._

"You're going to make him work, aren't you?" She asked him, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Not at all," Vincent answered, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "I am going to show him just how indifferent I can be."

Yuffie felt a cold front moving in. "Just remember," she said, already knowing this whole thing was going to go south in a hand basket full of grenades. "Don't get violent. We're here to fix Cloudy; not level the place. Just think what that would do to the economy."

Vincent looked down at her. "I don't get violent."

"Sure," she said, shaking her head. "You're a smiling picture of tranquility."

"And serenity," he added.

**To be continued…**

Please review and tell me what you think. Cookies for everyone who does.

~Flora


	3. Chapter 3

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Three**

Cid cursed and flipped his phone shut when Vincent's voicemail picked up for the 37th time in three weeks. He was about to hurl the device across the Bridge, but slipped it into his back pocket when he heard Cloud and Tifa enter via the newly installed sliding door. It made the coolest swishing sound ever and he loved it. Turning away from the wheel, he saw Cloud smiling and looking all windblown. He actually looked like his normal self again. He turned back to the wheel and rubbed his chin where the blond had struck him. If he'd been anybody else, he would have probably died from a broken neck or something.

_Now that I actually take the time to think about it, a broken neck does sound better than having to face Vincent. Maybe I'll just stay onboard and sleep here, too. He's not taking my calls, and he's obviously not listening to my voicemails, so that can only mean he doesn't want to see me. Well, I only have myself to blame. Yuffie did try to warn me. Once betrayed, Vincent never forgives, and now he'll probably never open himself back up ever again. Fuck!_

"Hey Cid!" Tifa waved from across the Bridge where Cloud was taking a seat at an empty console. "Do you want anything to drink? I'm going to make tea."

"You don't have to fucking shout!" He yelled right back, keeping his eyes staring straight ahead. "And no I don't want no goddamn tea!" He turned his head and looked right at the spiky haired blond. "But you better drink every fucking drop. That shit ain't cheap."

Cloud held up his gloved hands in defense and smiled like a little kid. Cid's heart dropped into his stomach and he had to look away from him. The boy was broken and there were too many pieces to even try and put back together again. All they could do was just try to help the best they could and hope and pray he didn't off himself in some grisly fashion. Cloud killing himself was Tifa's greatest fear. Cid knew that. That's why she never let Cloud out of her sight for long periods of time. But, as far as he knew, Cloud never spoke of taking his own life.

"Are we almost there yet?" Tifa asked in that pretty little whine of hers. "I would like to be able to go to the beach and get some sun _today_. I thought you said you made this thing faster."

He turned and glared at her with a snarl. He hated it when people spoke badly of his baby. He'd put so much time and love into her. "We'll get there when we fucking get there. So set your ass down and drink your goddamn tea!"

Tifa laughed and he turned back to his piloting. They were the only three on the Bridge. There were three other guys onboard, but they were off doing other duties. He had charged them with cleaning and maintenance should there be any. But, knowing them, they were probably hiding away somewhere playing poker and drinking.

_Vincent should be here. He should be standing over in his corner pretending not to watch me with those amber-red eyes of his. _

He had loved knowing Vincent watched him. It had sent a thrill through him he had not felt in years. He had made sure he'd done everything spot on and to perfection. Grace and style. That was him in the sky. The moment he smelled Vincent's interest in him, he'd done everything he could to impress the guy and he had. He'd even watched his foul mouth around him.

_Fuck! Shit! Goddamn! Hell! Piss pickled pecker licker!_

He was going to have to come up with a solution. He had to get Vincent to forgive him. He had already apologized and sent him new explosive ammunition as a peace offering. He'd received a parcel in the mail. It was a picture of him with a bullet through the forehead. Maybe if he stayed on the Highwind, Vincent would come see him. There sure as hell wasn't enough room in Cloud's villa. There was only four beds and there was no chance Vincent would be willing to share.

Cid stiffened when he felt a hand on his shoulder and stood up straighter when he received a tight squeeze. "What did you do?" Cloud's voice asked from behind him. He hadn't even felt the boy approach.

"Something fucktarded," he answered.

_I'm so fucking stupid. I never should have done it, but I'd drunk too much._

"How fucktarded?" Cloud asked, stepping up to stand beside him. He could smell the tea the blond was drinking. It was chamomile.

Cid tapped the wheel with his index fingers and shook his head. "I got really drunk," he said, looking at him. "I was shitfaced and talking with this guy. One innocent flirtatious remark and the next thing I know, the two of us are tongue kissing right there in front of everyone present."

Cloud lowered his head. "In front of Vincent?"

"In front of Valentine," Cid answered, punching the wheel. "I was wasted and the next thing I know, I'm flat on my back with a gun aimed at my face."

He allowed Cloud his snicker and then the boy's face became instantly serious. "What did I tell you, Cid?"

Cid didn't want to answer him, because it was a promise he had broken.

"_Vincent may seem aloof and untouched by emotions, but that is just a wall he's built around himself. He is scared, scarred, and bitter as hell, Cid. If you somehow get him to dismantle it and allow you inside, count yourself blessed and treasure every moment, because you don't know when it all might be taken away from you. Be gentle with him. That's all I ask."_

"I don't know what to do," Cid said, hands tightening on the wheel.

Cloud smiled. "If you feel this miserable, then that means you must love him and that you are sorry for what you did to him." The blond bumped shoulders with him. "You're just going to have to grovel like a dog and hope he hasn't nailed up boards across your doggy door."

Cid snorted. "Since when did you become so fucking smart?"

"I've always been smart," Cloud told him, turning to walk towards the large round window at the front of the ship. "I just don't always feel the need to show it."

Cid watched him go, suddenly wanting a cigarette, but Vincent had asked him to stop. So, he had, and he was once again in hell. When he was with Vincent, he didn't feel the need to light up, but now his lips were longing to suck on a good one.

_FUCK!_

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Cloud held onto his empty mug, feeling how fast the warmth from the green porcelain was fading. So, Cid had kissed another guy and Vincent had seen the whole thing. He closed his eyes and sighed, letting his shoulders drop. Back in the day, he would have punched Cid in the face for doing something so careless and hurtful. Now, he just felt sorry for people who couldn't treasure the love they so easily abused.

He was going to have to get Vincent's side of the story, too. He knew Cid wasn't lying, because the guy's energy was a wreck. He needed to know how Vincent was feeling. Maybe he could somehow figure out a way to remedy this whole thing. It would be a good, unselfish deed. Perhaps the spirits would lay off him if he did some kindness. Okay. Maybe not so unselfish, but it would still be a good deed. What Cid and Vincent had was a positive thing, and he wanted them to restore it and cherish each other.

He shook his head and chuckled under his breath.

_These are some really good drugs._

He walked over to another empty flight console and placed his mug down on the metal desk before going back to the railing in front of the large, oval window. He leaned up against it and smiled as he saw the coast of Costa del Sol suddenly appear in the distance.

_Don't you remember me?_

_Yeah, I remember. You're the slum drunk._

_Excuse me, but that's really rude! But, I'll forgive you since you bought a flower._

The memory came so suddenly that he started to laugh. The look on Aerith's face had been priceless when he'd said that. Of course, he had remembered her. It wasn't everyday you saw someone selling flowers in the slums.

_Hey, Chocobo Head! Did you take the last chocolate bar?_

_No…_

_Then why is there chocolate around your mouth?_

…_I don't know what you're insinuating, but see here…_

His phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket and flipped it open. It was a message from Yuffie.

**Where are you guys?**

He texted her back.

**I can see the coastline now. **

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked back out the window. Good memories. He was remembering good memories. The kind of memories that made him laugh.

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Vincent took a seat beside Yuffie on the wooden dock and put his feet down in the water like she had done. He sat back and looked up at the blue sky as she ate away at her shaved ice. She had told the young vendor to drown it in strawberry and kiwi syrup. She was attacking it like a dozer going at gravel. She had asked him if he wanted one and he had politely declined. At first he thought it may have put her off, but she had merely shrugged and looked greedily at all the syrupy choices.

"You're going to get a cavity," he warned her, lifting a foot out of the water, watching how each little drop of water that fell sparkled in the light.

She licked her lips and looked at him. "I brush, floss, and gargle twice a day. I think I'll be fine."

He dropped his foot back in the water and sighed rather deeply, quickly looking at the young girl sitting beside him. She was looking at him with an open mouth and wide, staring eyes. She looked like a fish.

"What?" He deadpanned.

She licked pink syrup off her spoon. "You sound really sad."

The comment totally caught him off guard, so he remained silent. Everything was catching him off guard. He had opened himself up, allowing himself to feel certain things again. He was becoming too comfortable with everyone, so he was letting the real him show through every now and then. He'd gotten too comfortable with her and her bubbly presence. He was going to have to remedy that and soon.

"I am fine," he answered her, knowing it was a huge lie.

"No you're not," she stated bluntly, putting her empty plastic bowl down beside her. "You are hurting and pissed as hell."

He didn't look at her. He didn't want to let her know that she was right. It would make her head bigger than Tifa's breasts.

"What Cid did to you was wrong," she told him, lifting both feet out of the water and wiggling her toes. "He deserves your anger, but remember, we're all here for Cloud. You can suck his blood when Cloud's not in the same room."

Vincent blinked and kept silent. He didn't trust his voice right now. It would probably break on him, just as he had broke when he saw Cid with his tongue down a strange man's throat.

A few moments passed and he sighed again. "I will be cordial."

She reached over and put her hand on his claw. "When Cloud's not looking, you can make all the death glares you want at Cid."

Vincent was going to do no such thing. In fact, he wasn't going to do anything. He was merely going to treat Cid as he had done back then. An annoying loud mouth who always spoke out of turn and smoked too much.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Yuffie yelled, getting to her feet. She started jumping up and down all excited and waving her arms. "DOWN HERE! YAY! WE'RE DOWN HERE, CLOUD! HELLOOOOOOOOO!"

Seeing the Highwind and knowing who was up there piloting it sent a jolt through Vincent's heart. It was descending from the sky and for a moment, he forgot all his rage, all his hate, and all his hurt. He was just happy that Cid was here again. But, that happy feeling soon passed and the wall of ice was erected once more.

A yelp caught his attention and he heard a splash as water hit him in the face. He looked to see bubbles and saw Yuffie come to the surface coughing and blubbering about. Apparently she had been jumping around and not paying any attention to how close she had gotten to the edge of the dock.

"You okay?" He asked, rising to his feet.

She nodded and laughed. "I'm just so happy."

He could tell and turned when something heavy hit the dock behind him. Yuffie squealed and started climbing back up onto the dock.

Cloud was standing there looking at him with a big grin on his face. "Hi." He greeted the both of them, taking a second look at Vincent's half naked body.

"CLOUD!" Yuffie squealed again, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're here! FINALLY!"

"Hey!" Cloud yelped, stumbling back a step. "You're all wet! Stop it!"

"Oh shush," she said, squeezing him tighter. "You're going to get undressed anyway. We're going to the beach."

Vincent smiled at the blond, watching as he tried to dislodge Yuffie from strangling him with her happy hugs of doom. It was nice to see Cloud smiling and hearing him laugh. That was a good sign. It meant the meds he was taking was doing their job.

"Hello down there!" Another voice called, and Vincent looked up to see Tifa waving down at them. "Sorry it took so long! A girl had to pack! Looking good, Vincent!" She whistled.

Vincent caught himself waving back and quickly dropped his hand. He felt mortified that he was showing open emotion in front of more than one person. But, seeing everyone again had him excited. It had been months.

"Yuffie I can't breathe!" Cloud gasped, but was laughing right along with the teen.

Vincent watched Tifa lower the ladder from the Deck and down she came like a falling star. The moment her feet touched the dock, she had her arms around Vincent, hugging him tight.

He smiled and hugged her back. "Nice to see you, Tifa."

The four of them exchanged pleasantries while the Highwind docked. One of the crew members, his name was Jack, brought down their luggage.

"Let's go to the beach," Tifa said, getting all of her stuff together.

Cloud got his bags together as well.

Vincent looked up at the ship and narrowed his eyes. "Is Cid not coming down?"

Cloud and Tifa both turned and looked at him. Cloud's mako filled eyes looked to the right and Vincent immediately knew that they knew what had happened.

"_That fool!"_ Vincent snarled under his breath, golden claw suddenly flexing and deadly in the sunlight. Why did he have to go and tell everyone? Now they all knew!

"You need to get some sun, Cloud," Yuffie quickly said. "You're starting to look pale."

"What's wrong with pale?" Vincent growled without meaning to, doing his best to get his emotions back under lock and key.

"Not everyone has the genetics to pull it off so fashionably," she answered him, taking Cloud by the hand and leading him off. "I got us snorkelers."

Cloud allowed himself to be tugged along. "Yeah?"

"Cid is going over some diagnostics," Tifa also stated, twirling a long strand of hair around her index finger. "He said he'd be along a little later."

Vincent slowly turned his back and looked up at the Highwind. He narrowed his eyes and felt the beast rising up in him.

_Coward._

He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, searching for a calm place to seek shelter from his own mounting rage. Against his better judgment, he took hold of the ladder and began scaling it.

_I'm going to teach you a lesson, Cid Highwind. I'm going to calmly twist your head right off your neck and throw it across your Bridge. That will teach you to keep your tongue out of other boy's mouths and to keep your mouth shut PERIOD._

"Hey!" He heard Yuffie yelling up at him from below. "What are you doing?"

"I am climbing a ladder, Yuffie," he replied, climbing higher and higher. He could have merely jumped and flown all the way up and crashed through the main window firing Death Penalty at anything that caught his attention, but he didn't. The climb would give him time to think and cool down.

"I can see that!" She yelled, voice getting further away. "But why are you climbing the ladder?"

He wanted to ignore her, but that would make them all follow. "Go play!" He shouted down. "I'll be along shortly."

He reached the deck of the Highwind and stood there. A warm breeze whipped through his hair, undoing his ponytail. His bare feet rose up off the deck a few inches and he slowly began to float towards the door leading to the interior. His mind raced with all sorts of horrible things he could do in under one minute that would cause this precious baby of Cid's to explode and fumble, tumble into the sea below. It would be fun and he would greatly enjoy it, too.

Exploding and crashing in a fiery demise. That's exactly how he'd felt in that moment. Had Cid been able to forget about him so easily in that drunken haze? Was he so forgettable?

He reached out with his claw, gripped the door handle, opening it with an unnatural ease, and stepped within the oil and machine smelling shadows.

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"Oh gods!" Yuffie cried, getting ready to climb up the ladder. "He's gonna blow the whole thing up and bring it down on our heads."

Cloud put his hand on Yuffie's shoulder and gently steered her away from the dangling ladder. "It'll be okay, Yuffie," he whispered. "They're just going to have to work through this."

"That's right," Tifa seconded, smiling reassuringly in order to ease the younger woman's burden. "Everything will be fine. You'll see. And even if he does blow it up, I'm sure it'll crash in the water. A few people look like they need to get wet anyway."

"Come on," Cloud said, leading the way from the dock. "You said we were going to learn how to snorkel, right?"

Yuffie's eyes immediately lit up and she bounced all around him. "That's right!" She said, smiling with joy. "I've made a list of things we can do every day. This is going to be so much fun, Cloud."

Tifa cocked her head to the side. "Does it include lots of shopping and barhopping?"

Yuffie nodded her head enthusiastically. "Oh yeah!"

Cloud dragged his luggage along and ruffled Yuffie's hair. "I've missed you."

The young woman looked at him and her eyes immediately watered. She jumped him again, throwing her arms around him. "I've missed you, too, Cloudy!"

"Too bad Barret and Nanaki can't be here," Tifa said.

"How come they aren't here?" Yuffie asked, releasing her hold on Cloud.

"Barret is getting Marlene ready for the new school year," she said, looking to the left. "And Nanaki is preparing Cosmo Canyon for some kind of festival."

Cloud looked down at his feet. He understood why Barret didn't want to be around. The man didn't want his daughter being exposed to him and he couldn't blame Barret. He was dangerous when the crazy did set in. Even though Barret never came right out and said it, Cloud knew.

Nanaki on the other hand was just too busy trying to keep everything together at Cosmo Canyon. Learning the truth about his father and the death of his grandfather had really hit him hard. Now he was doing everything he could to keep their memories and honor alive. Nanaki had been there for him as much as he could, but Cloud didn't blame him, couldn't blame him. The poor guy had had it really rough, too.

Cloud made a small mental note. Since he was already back on the continent, he'd try and drop in and see how he was doing. Maybe they could all go there for this festival in a few weeks.

"Aw!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I'd like to teach Red to snorkel. I bet he'd look really, really cute."

Tifa laughed. "I need to get out of these clothes and into my bathing suit. It is way too hot."

Cloud agreed, but the heat felt really good, and the sound of the ocean soothed him.

**COME.**

He stumbled and caught his balance. He quickly reassured the girls that he was fine. He'd just stumbled over a board was all.

He took a glance north and shivered. He could no longer see those black storm clouds, but he could feel their power.

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Blue eyes were watching. And they were blue eyes that were wide with shock. A totally random surprise.

About a hundred meters from the dock, a large white yacht was moored. A handsome blond man was lounging about on deck in the warm sunlight, gently petting a large black feline that was curled up beside his lounge chair. He put down his binoculars and reached for his bottle, taking another long drink before stumbling to his feet. He was wearing nothing but a black speedo, and the thin strip of material left nothing to the imagination. The large feline lifted its head, but made no move to follow unless bidden to do so.

"I can't believe it," Rufus Shinra said, standing on his toes and stretching his tan body. "Cloud Strife is here and looks to be staying for a while."

From the information his people had gathered, Cloud Strife had supposedly gone insane. Jumping at every little thing. Almost demolishing an entire city block in his fear before his friend's had banded together and subdued him in time to stop him from summoning something that would have leveled half of Edge in a matter of moments.

"_I'll destroy everything! Then you'll leave me alone!" _Rude had reported Cloud saying before being carted off to a clinic with a fractured ribcage the spiky haired psycho had inflicted on him with a single punch.

_Gods, he's powerful. If only he'd join me…Shinra would be on top again. We could make this world better again. A new age for everyone._

He leaned against the railing and lowered his head. A warm breeze made his hair gently flutter around his face.

_I did everything wrong…so many people…maybe if I'd been kinder…oh, well…I'm all alone now…_

Something warm and fuzzy nudged his thigh and he glanced down to see Dark Nation looking up at him with those golden feline eyes that glowed with molten fire. "Well, not totally alone," he said, kneeling down and hugging his sleek, furry friend. The large feline purred and was once more content.

_Maybe I can try and make nice in person this time. No lackeys. That would show a token of good faith. I'll even dress like a…I'll even dress like a real person. Nothing stuffy or uptight. Show them that I can be just like them._

"What twisted plots are you brewing in that wicked head of yours, Boss?" A voice asked, and a redhead stepped out of the yacht's interior.

Rufus kept his face neutral, but he was frowning on the inside. The TURKS were practically all he had left.

_And the last thing Cloud Strife needs to see is you, Reno. After all, you are the one who set the device which crushed Sector 7 under a plate. He'd probably kill you on site just for the hell of it. A lot of people died that day. _

"Hush!" Another voice snapped from behind the redhead. "Let the boss think."

"Don't be such a grouch, Rude," Reno whined, turning around with his hands on his hips. "I was just messing with him. I'm bored."

"Rude. Reno." Rufus said, cocking his head to the side, rising to his feet again. "I want the two of you to head back to Edge."

"Huh?" They both asked at the same time.

"You heard me."

"But, Boss…" Reno gawked.

"And send me Tseng and Elena."

He turned his back to them, feeling kind of bad, but he didn't want to cause a fight. The last thing he needed was Cloud taking aim and blowing up his yacht. It was the only one he had and he rather enjoyed having it.

_I'll have to watch and prepare for the perfect moment to make my move. _

"Wait!" He yelled, causing the two TURKS to stop. He spun around and looked from Reno to Rude and then back again. He scratched his hairless chin and smirked, causing the two guys to take a step back in fear. "How are you two at playing dress up?"

"Huh?" They both asked at the same time.

_Cloud will help anyone in need. That's his weakness. I'll watch his every move. When he's alone, I'll put myself in harm's way and he'll come to the rescue._

"What? Didn't you just say you were bored, Reno?" Rufus asked. "We'll we're going to design a little game and then we're going to play it."

He began to chuckle and finally threw back his head and howled with laughter.

Both TURKS paled.

"We're gonna die," Reno whispered, dropping his head.

Rude nodded. "Most likely."

Dark Nation simply purred.

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_She floated in the heart of darkness with crimson lightning flashing all around her. A realm of hot and cold. From one extreme to the next. Nothing in the middle. No balance. Just chaos. _

_Rage._

_Absolute rage._

_And hate. There was lots of hatred._

_She slept. Rocking back and forth in a fit of painful sleep. She longed to scratch and kill every bug that was making her itch._

_The crawling darkness shook and she opened her eyes. Two black holes that sucked in all hope, all dreams, all love, all life, and gave nothing back but despair and anguish._

_Yet she did not move. She was still dreaming, but ever so slowly clawing her way back to the waking world. _

Marlene Wallace opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She sat up in her bed, gasping for breath, feeling as if she'd been holding her breath underwater.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

**To be continued…**

Please review and tell me what you think. I'd greatly appreciate it. Cookies to all who do.

~Flora


	4. Chapter 4

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Four**

Upon landing in Costa del Sol, Cid had retreated to the privacy of his own quarters. It was a homey space he'd added onto the Highwind just for his own personal use. It comprised of a single bed, a good sized sofa at the foot of it, an oak coffee table, a regular closet, and a good size window to let in all the light a person could want.

He kicked off his brown leather work boots and flopped down on his bed with a muffled grunt. He had no idea what he was going to do. Vincent was now probably more pissed than ever since he hadn't accompanied Cloud and Tifa down to greet him and Yuffie on the dock. But, then again, knowing Vincent, the gunman probably couldn't care less.

"_When I am betrayed," _Vincent had whispered. _"I never forgive. Are you willing to risk my wrath?"_

Cid crawled under his pillow and hid, groaning. He had been rightly warned and he had promised Vincent he would never do anything to hurt him. He'd known Vincent was scared, scarred, and utterly alone in the world.

"I really fucked this up," he moaned into the pillow, trying to bury his face deeper into his mattress. "I betrayed him."

"Yes," a deep, hollow, distorted voice replied from behind him. "You did."

The pillow went flying into the air as he rolled over and was immediately up against the headboard, looking at a nearly naked Vincent Valentine. The guy was masculine beauty incarnate and Cid quickly got off the bed so that he at least had something between the two of them. Just looking at Vincent caused him to ache from north to south.

"Vince," Cid greeted with a nervous grin, sounding out of breath. "Good to see you."

Vincent cocked his dark head to the side, amber-red eyes glowing with an eerie molten radiance. "I wish I could say the same."

"What do you mean?" Cid asked, not moving from where he now stood. He wanted something between as a buffer. "Then why are you here?"

A shadow of confusion and lost puppy played across Vincent's breathtaking face, but was quickly gone, like the moon vanishing behind a dark cloud. "I would very much like to kill you, Cid Highwind," he answered, fangs filling his brutal, seductive mouth. "And get on with my ever so exciting existence."

Cid kept looking at him. He knew deep down Vincent wouldn't kill him. No matter how pissed off the guy was, Vincent still loved him, too. That lost look had totally proved it.

"I love you," Cid told him matter of fact.

"Don't say that!" Vincent snarled, four voices speaking as one. It was scary as hell.

"What I did to you was fucktarded and I have no excuse," He went on, ignoring how Vincent's smooth flesh from the neck down was slowly darkening to the color of raven wings. "I did it. I'm guilty. I kissed another man. I was drunk, horny as hell, and the music was really good."

"You're always drinking," Vincent growled low in his throat, crimson streaks coiling around his muscular arms like glowing hot tattoos. "And you're always horny." The guy looked ready to pounce and bite out his throat with those razor sharp fangs.

Cid looked down at the quilt on his bed.

It was true. He did enjoy drinking a lot, and the more he drank, the hornier he gets. He had just been too fucking drunk to remember which side Vincent was sitting on, and planted a big one on the dark headed guy sitting on his left. He seriously thought it had been Vincent. He'd been talking to the guy, flirting with him and everything.

"I thought it was you I was kissing. The guy had dark hair. I'm sorry."

There! He'd said it! He actually got to say it this time. No loud bullets. No screaming, shrieking, and growling. No metal being ripped and thrown at his face.

Vincent looked as though he'd been smashed in the face by a giant wrecking ball. The ire in them burning orbs winked out like candle getting snuffed by a breeze. He suddenly hissed like a nest full of venomous vipers and that ire suddenly became a blazing inferno.

"FOOL!" He shrieked. He kicked the bed at Cid, causing it to his the blond pilot in the knees, making him fall flat onto his face on the mattress. The beast took hold of his shoulders, dragging him kicking across the quilt, flipping him over with a flaming hot snort. Glowing red eyes started down into the startled, handsome face and he smirked from pointy ear to pointy ear with them devil red lips of his.

Cid held his breath as Vincent put his mouth to his throat, licking the spot where his jugular was thundering wildly away below the thin surface of his tan flesh. "I should suck you dry," Vincent whispered into his ear. His breath was hot and spicy. "But that wouldn't be much fun."

"What?" Cid asked.

Vincent hurled him off the bed and Cid went sliding across the floor and out the door. He turned around and stalked towards the dazed blond with dagger sharp talons flexing. Cid scrambled to his feet, glaring knives at the beast coming at him. He took a step back and paled when wings instantly sprouted from Vincent's broad back.

"Vincent?"

The demon looked at him and gave them wings of his a violent flap. The wind from them scorched the back of Cid's throat.

"Run, Cid Highwind," the demon told him, floating a few inches off the floor. "Run for your pathetic life."

Cid took a small step back. "Vin…"

"RUN!" Vincent screamed, diving at him with talons raised to tear meat from bone.

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Cloud closed the door behind him and looked at his newly decorated bedroom that was before him. Everything was done to resemble the ocean. Sand colored walls, a chandelier over the bed constructed entirely of seashells, a coral statue carved in the slender shape of a siren on the dresser, giant starfish hung to the walls like picture frames, and large conch shells decorated the shelf spaces. It all looked tacky, yet wonderful. He immediately went over to the window and threw it open. The salty sea air hit him in the face and he breathed it in along with the sunshine. Deep down, he still couldn't believe he actually now owned such a fantastic place.

He turned from the window and decided to change into his swimming trunks. They were brand new and bright yellow with a neon blue lightning strike lancing across the crotch area. He and Tifa had thought them really funny and that was why he'd purchased them from the old man who had made him the silk dress. Apparently the old man was making lots of new garments nowadays from having met him. He had told Cloud that he had opened his mind to all the limitless possibilities in the world of fashion and to come to him should he ever need another dress. That had really made him laugh. As if he would ever wear a dress again.

_Oh my God! You look so cute, Cloud._

_Really? I mean…shut up!_

He stood in front of the mirror and looked himself over. Yuffie was right. He was really pale. He seriously needed to work on his tan. His mako blue-green eyes glowed back at him and he tried to make them smile. Well, being in the sun would change that pretty fast.

With a small sigh, he decided to unpack some things. He knew it would take Tifa forever to decide which bathing suit she was going to wear. So he began hanging up shirts and pants and putting more intimate items into their own individual drawer, when a knock came at his door.

"Come in!" He called out, placing a shirt on a wooden hanger.

The door slowly opened and Yuffie poked her head inside. "Cloud?"

He turned to face her. "Yeah?"

"Can I show you something?" She asked.

He nodded his head, grabbing another hanger. "Sure. What is it?"

She walked into the room and he noticed how she appeared to be holding a small picture frame. She had an unsure expression on her young face and he didn't quite know what to make of it.

"I…uh…I had this picture for quite some time," she said, holding it against her chest. "We were friends and he helped me out from time to time with treasure…"

"Oh?" Cloud asked, smiling. Yuffie loved her treasure and suckering anybody dumb enough to fall for her tricky tricks.

She nodded. "I forgot I had it. I found it just the other day. When he vanished…"

Cloud cocked his head to the side. "Vanished?"

"Seven years ago…"

_Seven…years…ago…_

He could hear rain and looked towards the window. The sun was shining brighter than ever. He turned back to her. "What is it, Yuffie?"

She held the small frame out to him and he reached out and took it from her. A soft jingle went off somewhere and he almost dropped it, but didn't. He turned the silver rimmed frame over and his eyes widened and time slowed to a crawl around him.

It was him. The ghost that haunted him. The spirit that always told him everything was fine.

_Zack…_

The gorgeous man in the photo was laughing and had his hand behind his head. His blue eyes were just as blue as he remembered. No sky or sea could compare to such heavenly azure.

It was Zack. It was Zack. It was Zack. It was Zack. It was Zack.

That sweet smile. Those gentle hands. The feather soft touch of them lips. The playful way he'd nip at his neck with them pearly whites.

"Yuffie…"

"Do you know him?" She asked, toeing at the floor.

Tears began to stream down his cheeks. All he'd ever had were his memories and a bloodstained Buster Sword. The good and the bad. Now he had physical goodness in his hand. He looked up at Yuffie from the picture in his hand and the young girl looked startled.

"Cloud? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She took a step towards him.

A pitiful sound escaped his throat and he suddenly had the smaller girl in his arms. He held her tight and cried like a little boy.

She wrapped her arms around him. He was shaking and openly sobbing.

She didn't know what to do. So she ran soothing circles across Cloud's broad shoulders. "Tifa!" She called.

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Cid fled to the chocobo stable and slammed the large metal door shut, throwing the lock down faster than a speeding bullet. He stumbled back from the door, rubbing sweat from his forehead. His shirt was shredded in the front and the back. The white cotton was hanging in strips from his muscular torso. He lit up a cigarette and took a long drag to calm his rattled nerves. He'd dumped a metal trashcan over Vincent's horned head and banged it hard enough to cause the demon to stumble around as if drunk while he ran away from it. He'd seen the guy pissed before, but nothing like this. He took another long drag and looked around the stables, blowing out the smoke through his nose holes. There were steel bars across the only window and the air ducts were way too small for him to fit through.

He was trapped.

"Goddamn it!" He snarled, kicking a sack of chocobo feed clear across the room. He ran over to the window and started pulling on the bars, putting a bare foot up against the wall and pulled with all his might. The metal groaned and made whining noises, but did not give like he wanted it to. "Shit!" He'd reinforced it too strongly.

He dropped his foot and stumbled back, taking another long drag. He damn near jumped out of his skin when something heavy collided with the door behind him. He spun around and saw how it rattled against the force that was assaulting it from the other side.

"I love it when they think they can hide!" Vincent howled madly, punching and clawing at the door with his powerful talons. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" His laugh went from something deep and rocky to something too high to be natural and it was scary as fuck.

"Nobody home!" Cid yelled right back, wondering if he should just hide under the hay and pray for a miracle. "We don't want any!"

"OPEN THIS DOOR, CID!" Vincent roared, punching it harder and harder. "If you do, I swear I'll kill you slowly."

Cid rolled his eyes and stomped on his cigarette nub, rubbing it out. "Don't you mean quickly?"

Metal whined. "OPEN UP!" Vincent growled.

Cid looked down and saw an eerie glow coming from outside. "Oh, fuck me," he hissed. He jumped and rolled out of the way as the door exploded off its hinges in a violent burst of flames. It flew past Cid and crashed to the ground, causing sparks to fill the air.

Vincent stalked in on golden hooves. He was hunched over with giant dragon wings extended and misty with malice.

"Are you crazy?" Cid yelled, rising to his feet. "You could hurt somebody!"

"Yes." The demon chuckled, licking its lips with a forked tongue. "That's the point."

Cid was trapped. There was nowhere for him to run to and he had no weapon in which to defend himself. Of all the places to run, he had to run in here. He had a fucking weapon room. Why hadn't he ran there?

"You stink of smoke, Cid."

Vincent pounced on him, talons taking hold of Cid's shoulders once more, and Cid stumbled backwards, falling flat on his back in the hay with the demon on top of him. The thing that scared him the most was that Vincent could choose his weight. He could be light as a feather or as heavy as a steam roller.

_He may just kill me…_

"Giving up?" The demon asked, looming over him, beautiful and monstrous all at once. "Ready to die?"

Cid turned his head to the side, no longer looking into those mad eyes. "Whatever."

The demon gripped him by the throat, squeezing a little. "No."

Cid was forced to look at him.

"You had me. You had all of me." the demon said, rising off him with a hiss, golden hooves stepping back, wings draped around him like a wicked cloak. "And now you get to watch _me_ walk away."

Cid sat up, rubbing his neck. "Vincent?"

As the demon turned around and began walking away, it began melting, becoming a man once more. Vincent stopped and just stood there with his back to him.

"I made a mistake, Vincent," Cid said, getting to his knees. "A stupid mistake."

Vincent began walking away again.

"I'll never drink again!" Cid yelled. "I'll stop smoking for real this time! I'll do whatever you want…just don't walk away from me!"

Vincent balled his fists and his shoulders were trembling as he froze in place again.

"If you no longer love me," Cid whispered, gazing at his back imploringly. "Just kill me and get it over with."

Vincent spun around and Cid's heart skipped a beat. The man's beautiful face was filled with such heartbreaking grief. That long, black hair was coiling and slithering about his perfect face as if each strand had a life all its own. He could see tears refusing to fall.

"That would be far too easy, Cid," Vincent smiled, vanishing into the shadows. "Suffer," his voice echoed all around.

Cid reached out with his hand, but after a few seconds, he let it fall back to his side dejected. He sat there on his knees in the hay, sneezing his head off and trying not to cry.

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Cloud was on the bed with his head resting in Tifa's lap. She was running her fingers through his spiky hair while Yuffie was sitting at the end watching the two of them. Cloud couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful face that was laughing back at him from the photo.

Zack looked so energetic, so full of life. He was such a backwatered dork. Only backwatered dorks got caught in photos laughing with their hand behind their head. It was endearing.

_My Zack._

He held the picture close to his heart and squeezed. It was almost like he could hear Zack singing. He'd used to hum to him during the long nights he couldn't sleep.

He felt a small hand squeeze his ankle and he looked. Yuffie smiled at him.

"You okay now, Cloudy?"

_I'll never be okay, Yuffie. Never. Never. Ever._

He gave a small smile back. "Thank you."

Yuffie squeezed his ankle a little tighter.

"When I was with you, Cloud," Tifa said, still playing with his hair. "When I was inside of your mind, in the Lifestream, I saw it all."

He tensed.

"All the laughter. All the tears. Ballrooms of love and windswept halls of pain. You loved him and he loved you. That's all that really matters." She said.

"Tifa?" He whispered.

"When I came to, I swear I saw Zack holding you just as I am now, Cloud. He was glowing with light from the Lifestream and he looked at me and grinned like an idiot. He said, 'See? Chocobo Head's fine,'" she went on, stopping him from rising. "I didn't tell you…I didn't tell you because…you needed to focus. I'd seen you cracked, splintered and broken. I…couldn't see you like that again. Now when you were finally whole and yourself."

He closed his eyes, allowing his anger to pass. It was not her fault. He couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for her to be inside his fucked up psyche. She had every right to keep what she saw a secret. He had.

_Was he there? How else could she have known? Only Zack ever called me Chocobo Head. _

He didn't know. He didn't trust himself. He saw things nobody else could and Tifa saw something that he couldn't because he'd been unconscious. Maybe they were all fucking crazy, too. It could have been all that mako in the air. Gods know they'd all probably snorted enough to fuel a city for an hour or so.

He rose up and looked from Tifa to Yuffie and then back down at the photo of Zack. "Can I have a few moments alone?" He asked. "And then we can go down to the beach."

Yuffie jumped up and started bouncing about on the bed. "TOTALLY!"

Tifa reached over and gently patted his cheek. "We'll be waiting outside. I need a snow cone from that cute vendor."

Cloud nodded and watched them leave the room. Yuffie closed the door after them. When he was certain they were gone, he brought the photo up to his lips and kissed it like a lovesick schoolboy. He got up and stood Zack's photo on the wooden table beside his bed. He walked over and picked up two conch shells from the shelves and placed them on either side of the picture.

He was constructing an altar.

_I'm going to need some incense and a burner…I'm sure I can find one at one of these little shops or something. And flowers. I'm gonna need flowers. Yellow. Yellow and blue. He loved yellow and blue._

He then opened up his second bag. It was a very special kind of bag that only he knew the secret, too. It was something he had stolen from Hojo's lab. At first he thought it had just been a regular bag, but no, it wasn't. It was a kind of bag that could open up and store really large objects. Objects big enough like his Ultima Weapon. He drew it out and grinned. It was the one thing he never went off without. He'd kept it hidden along with several pieces of really powerful materia.

Lightning. Fire. Ice. Earth. Ultima. Zero Bahamut. Ifrit. Leviathan. Shield. Contain.

They thought they'd gotten it all, but they were wrong. As if he'd go anywhere without being prepared for the very worst.

He placed all the materia back into the bag except for Shield and Fire. These he put inside his wrist band and smiled. Just in case giant sea slugs decided to attack. He could roast them up and serve them extra crispy.

He slid Ultima Weapon back inside the bag, too and placed the bag in the back of the closet, shutting the door. He took another look at Zack and went to meet Tifa and Yuffie.

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Rufus struggled to keep his left eye from twitching.

"You idiot!" He yelled. "You call that a disguise?"

Reno made a face. "What's wrong with my mustache? I think it makes me look really distinguished. Plus, it's real hair, Boss."

Rufus ran his hands through his hair. No wonder he had lost. He'd been surrounded by complete incompetent buffoons. Apparently nobody knew what the fuck they was doing and every time he did give a command, someone just royally fucked it over hard.

"Rude, please tell Reno what the problem with his mustache is," Rufus ordered.

Rude looked at the redhead, dropped his shoulders, and sighed. "Your hair is red…your mustache is black…"

"OH!" Reno laughed, slapping his knee. "I forgot to put my wig on." He stooped over into a bag and when he lifted back up he had long black hair. "Well?"

Rufus closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose rather tightly. He could feel a migraine coming on. He never used to have them until now.

Rude cracked his knuckles and shook his head.

"What?" Reno asked, striking a pose in front of the wall mirror. "I think I look good." He tossed his head back and forth, causing his long black locks to flutter dramatically like he was running down a beach to save a picnic basket from getting swept away by a rogue wave that was drowning someone with no limbs.

"It isn't about looking fashionable!" Rufus snapped, causing the redhead to spin away from the mirror and drop his head. Rufus tempered himself quickly. "It is about getting me on good terms with Cloud and his keepers." He stated calmly. "But especially Cloud."

"Sir!" Both TURKS saluted.

"Rude," he charged, turning his back to them and walking away. "I put you in charge to correct this."

"Yes, Sir," Rude said.

Rufus decided it was time to shower. Hot water always made him feel better. Plus, he'd been out of the sun for a while now. It was time to wash off the tanning oil. He smelled like coconuts and something citrusy.

Steam was soon swirling around him and he was sitting with his back against the warm wall. The floor and walls were self heating. He watched as the hot water swirled around the drain. Had everything that fell apart around him spiraled down so quickly as well?

_My life is like that drain. Everything just gets sucked down into nothing at all._

He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.

_My mother. My friends. My father. My company. All my brilliant plans. Everything. What use is stored up wealth if there is nobody to acknowledge its worth? I have to make others see that I've changed and want better for everyone, otherwise I'm just going to lie in the sun and cook myself till I'm brain dead. Nobody would care either way._

Now he was just pitching himself a pity party and is was pissing him off. He was Rufus Shinra. Heir to the most powerful family in the world. He'd never had to think this way before. It had been easier to be ruthless, merciless, and totally uncaring towards everything but his own desires, and being that way had cost him everything.

_That's why Cloud won. He had all the things I didn't. He had love. I had hate. He had friendship. I had slaves. He had loyalty. I had fear. He had empathy. I had nothing but apathy. He had nothing and still had more than me._

He lifted his head from his knees, letting the hot water run down his face. The sweet smelling steam swirled around him as he carefully rose to his feet. He turned off the water and reached for the towel.

_I need a drink._

**To be continued…**

Yay! Another chapter completed. I hope everyone enjoys. Please leave a review if you do.

_~Flora_


	5. Chapter 5

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Five**

Cloud reached down and picked up a shiny piece of blue sea glass. It was felt perfectly smooth and the sea had polished it up nicely. He placed it within his netlike baggie along with shells he had found and continued swimming along the sandy bottom of the coral reef. He swam through beams of brilliant sunlight, witnessing a whole other world through the glass goggles he was wearing. All manners of colorful fish swam around him and he could see all kinds of exotic plant life. It was a blue world filled with all manner of brilliant hues.

A medium sized rainbow colored fish swam by him and Yuffie was holding onto its tail. She looked back at him and waved with a big grin on her face. He waved back and felt himself smiling, too. What she was doing looked like a lot of fun. The fish was smaller than Mr. Dolphin and didn't look like it was being bothered by Yuffie hitching a free ride at all.

It made him wish that he had an underwater camera. Perhaps he would see if he could find himself one. It would be really cool to take pictures of all the fun stuff they were doing and make some kind of album or scrapbook. Something to hold these kind of precious memories that can be so easily forgotten, so that when depression punched him hard in the throat, he'd be able to open it up and take in all the good stuff.

_Maybe I should keep myself a journal from now on. Write only the good things I can remember about Zack and Aerith. I can keep it on the altar. Create a positive space I can retreat to. A room where I can feel them with me._

Something shiny caught his eye and he dove down to take a look. On the bed surface he spotted a gorgeous shell poking out of the white sand. When he picked it up, he discovered it to be the size of his palm and deep enough to hold some dry beach sand in it. It would make the perfect natural incense burner. It was pale pink in color with reddish looking spots here and there. He placed it in his bag and kicked off the bottom towards the surface for some air.

His blond head broke the blue surface and he drew sweet air into his lungs. He pushed his goggles back and tied his baggie to his waist and floated on his back in the warm sunlight. The water moved under him, causing him to gently bob up and down on the surface. In this tiny moment, he felt absolutely free.

_Zack whistled. "Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep."_

"Yes," Cloud bit his bottom lip and looked up at the sky. His eyes stung and he shook his head in order to keep from crying again. "And you bought it for me."

Yuffie broke the surface a few feet away and waved to him before diving back under. She looked to be having a blast herself. The teen was looking for treasure no doubt. She would probably keep diving until dark. That's how obsessed she got when it came to treasure hunting. There was no telling what she might discover along the reef…and that suddenly made him really paranoid. The last thing he wanted was for Yuffie's curiosity to piss off a sea monster and cause it to go on a rampage. That would really cut into Tifa's sunbathing and he didn't want to see her pissed again.

He put his goggles back on, made sure his baggie was secure, and dove back underwater with a gentle splash.

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Tifa had her eyes closed, but narrowed them when she felt a shadow looming over her. She squinted one eye open in irritation at having the sun blocked, but opened the other one when she saw that it was a very sour looking Vincent. She sat up on her lounger. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at him in concern. "What happened?" The poor guy looked like he'd been sucking on a lemon while being tossed around in a storm.

"Where's Yuffie?" He deadpanned, sounding even more miserable than when she first met the poor guy.

She pointed her index finger out towards the rolling waves that were crashing gently against the white shoreline. "She's swimming out there with Cloud. I assume they're exploring the reef for shells and treasure no doubt."

Vincent gazed out to where she was pointing. He leaped up into the air, shooting off like a bullet towards the reef and splashed down in the water like a comet. She got to her feet and ran a little bit towards the sea, suddenly seeing him rising out of the water with Yuffie writhing all pissed in his arms.

"What the hell are you doing, Vincent?" Yuffie was yelling and kicking her legs as they both soared overhead back towards Cloud's villa. "Put me down this instant! I almost had that treasure! Damn it! Now Cloud's gonna win!"

Tifa watched them go and scratched the back of her head. She turned back to the sea, spotting Cloud when his blond head broke the surface. He quickly began to swim back to shore and there was something really big chasing him at high speed.

"Oh, shit!" She hissed when she realized it was a Giant Bottomswell that was after him. "CLOUD!" She yelled, frantically jumping up and down, frantically waving her arms like a mad person. "HURRY!" She turned to the people on the beach. "GET BACK! MONSTER ATTACK! RUN!" And that was all anybody needed to hear. They ran with no questions asked.

"FIREBALL!" She heard Cloud yell from behind and the entire beach shook from the sudden explosion. She spun around in time to see the Giant Bottomswell be engulfed in a gigantic ball of flame. It writhed, shrieked, and collapsed into the water with a huge splash and sizzle.

The resulting splash sent a whooping Cloud straight to shore on a giant wave. She turned and fled. "Goddamn it!" She shrieked as the wave crashed behind her as she jumped behind a lounge chair. The wave deposited Cloud on the beach with his head in the sand before rolling back out.

She peeked over the chair to see Cloud lifting his head out of the sand and getting to his knees. He was coughing, spitting out sand, and making all kinds of funny faces as he clawed at his tongue with his sand covered hands.

_Gods he's powerful…and so pathetically adorable…it hurts…_

Just where the hell had he gotten that materia? Hadn't she taken it all from him and locked it up? She hated it when he kept secrets and hid things from her. She was going to have to search the whole villa now when he was out.

She stood up and swore she'd never seen someone's eyes get so big when he spotted her looking at him the way she was. He looked just like a little boy who'd been caught with his hand in the goodie jar without Mother's permission. It would be cute if she wasn't so mad.

"What the hell was that about?" She asked, walking up to him.

"Yuffie," he gagged, still pawing at his tongue. "Treasure…"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course."

She wasn't even going to mention the materia. The sand in his mouth was punishment enough. She hoped it tasted really nasty.

"My bag!" He gasped, checking himself and breathed a sigh of relief when he'd found it. He stumbled to his big feet and she helped to steady him against her better judgment. "Water?"

"Come on," she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to have a talk with that girl."

"Vincent?" He wheezed.

"Flew off with her," she answered, leading him across the beach to the vendor who was peeking out over his stall. The poor vendor looked clearly shaken by seeing that giant monster rise up out of the ocean like that. He surely believed the world had been about to end again. "He clearly only confides in her now. I can't believe he just flew off without helping you."

Cloud made a face at her. "Did I look like I needed any help?" He asked, puffing out his broad chest. "I took care of it all by myself."

"Everything is okay now," Tifa ignored him and calmly assured the rattled vendor as she helped Cloud into a seat. "My dumb blond friend here successfully shooed away the enemy and he would simply adore a glass of your finest water to wash his grainy mouth out with."

Cloud gave her a hurt look, which caused her to ruffle his hair as hard as she could. He growled at her. It only served to make her ruffle harder.

The vendor was more than happy to serve them both.

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Rufus put down his expensive, high-powered binoculars and looked at Reno on his left and then at Rude on his right. "Did you two see that?" He asked, doing his very best not to gawk like some captivated tourist. That had been the biggest fireball he'd ever seen someone shoot. That was MASTER level magic right there. The kind of magic that was rare and damn near godlike. "He took that giant sea beast down with one massive hit." He'd only ever seen one other do something like that, and thankfully that bastard was dead and rotting in a sunken crater.

"Did you see how his head went under the sand?" Reno asked, laughing out loud. "He came up spitting and clawing like a puppy."

Rude never made a sound. He was probably thanking the gods that he wasn't the one on the receiving end of that fiery attack. The last time he'd faced Cloud, he'd ended up in the hospital. He wasn't in any hurry for that sort of thing to happen again.

Rufus elbowed Reno and took another look through the binoculars. Cloud was taking a drink from a tall glass, looking to be swishing it about in his mouth, gargling, and then turned his head and spat. Rufus made a face, but didn't comment on just how gross that was to him. Cloud continued doing that several times before ordering another glass. Rufus watched him down the whole thing in seconds.

He whistled.

_I wonder if he's that fast with liquor?_

"Come on," Rufus said, rising to his feet. "It is time to put my plan in action."

"Boss," Rude said, rising with him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he answered, walking away from the railing he'd been spying from. "You have to hit me hard enough to knock me out. That's all. What's so hard about that?"

"The hitting you part, Boss," Reno answered for Rude. "We don't like that bit."

Rufus stopped and turned to look at them. They didn't want to hit him? Everyone wanted to hit him. Many wanted to see him severely injured or dead.

_Well, they are my TURKS. I take care of them. They want for nothing. Of course they don't want to harm me or see me harmed by others. Then who would buy them pretty shiny so they can entertain themselves? Nobody._

"I'm only going to be mad if you fail to knock me out," Rufus said, turning to walk away once more. He didn't need to look to know they were following him. They always followed him. They were like his shadows. Always there.

_And when I finally get Cloud on my side, I'll be sure to up their pay again. Maybe I'll even buy them some new vehicles to run around in. That will make them happy._

He narrowed his eyes.

_Happy? I want to make them happy? I have changed. Since when did I start caring if people were happy? _

"Um, Boss?" Rude asked from behind.

"Hmm?" He asked over his shoulder.

Reno chuckled. "The yacht is docked back that way…at the dock…"

Rufus stopped. He'd been walking in the opposite direction. In fact, he had no idea where he'd been going or why.

"Right," he said, quickly changing direction. "I was just testing the two of you to see if you were paying attention."

Both men bowed, but gave each other a worried glance after Rufus passed between them.

_I am going to make myself a part of their little group. They will have no choice but to take me under their wings. No way will they leave me to fend for myself. They are too goody-goody and heroic to ever do that. Surely they've forgotten all about that little execution ordeal. I only meant it at the time. Now I feel really bad for having done it. _

He stopped in his tracks.

_No! Not again! I'm not going to beat myself up over that. Not this time. I know! I know! If they had been killed, the whole world probably wouldn't be here right now. I know! I KNOW! Oh, I wish I could forget everything. I was so arrogant and self assured that I wouldn't fail. I can't believe I thought Shinra could stand up to the forces of the Planet itself and win. _

"You okay, Boss?" Reno asked, stepping up beside him.

Rude stepped up on his other side, looking at him from behind the dark sunglasses he never took off.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Reno. Let's just get back so we can go over this plan one final time before implementing it."

They followed him.

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Vincent landed on a red rooftop and put Yuffie down. She had kicked and squirmed the whole way. "I can't believe you did that!" She yelled at him, spinning around on him. "I was this close to getting that treasure! Why did you do that for?"

"I think I made Cid cry…"

That stopped her in her tracks. She looked up at him and blinked several times. There was no way she had heard that correctly.

_Cid cry? No way! He's too badass for that._

"You what?" She asked, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "What did you do?"

"We fought," Vincent deadpanned, looking away from her. "It got violent. He dumped a trashcan over my head and banged it really hard. It hurt my ears."

"What did you do?" She repeated, trying to picture what he'd just said without snorting.

"I transformed, tossed him off a bed, chased him down, destroyed a door, may have started a small fire, and then tormented him for a good while before finally leaving him to suffer for what he'd done to me," he listed off on fingers. "He told me that he thought it was me he was kissing. He'd forgotten which side I was sitting on, so he'd kissed the dark headed guy on the other side thinking he was me."

Yuffie blinked her eyes some more, doing her very best to take all that in and process it. That was the most she'd ever heard Vincent blab in such a short period of time. And that's exactly what he was doing. He was blabbing, like he was lost and very confused.

"I want him to suffer," Vincent growled, flexing his talons. "But, I couldn't stand it when he started crying in the hay."

"Hay?" She asked.

"The stables," Vincent answered. "I tossed him into the hay or something like that. He went down easily enough. All that drinking and smoking. Makes a person weak."

"He was drunk and thought he was kissing you?" She asked him, finally realizing just how dumb this whole thing was.

Vincent nodded. "But, he was still kissing another guy. That's wrong."

"Yes," she told him. "It was wrong. It still is wrong, but he was drunk off his ass and thought he was kissing you, which means he was only thinking of you."

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" She asked him. "Do you want it to be over? Cid doesn't. Not if you left him crying in the hay."

"I wish him to suffer," Vincent told her, nodding his head, looking as if he were convincing himself it was just. "He deserves it. This will teach him just how bad getting drunk is. I don't mind him drinking every now and then, but not…" He stopped himself and cursed under his breath.

"See?" Yuffie grinned from ear to ear. "You want to forgive him. You just don't know how. You've never forgiven have you?"

Vincent looked as if he wanted to stomp his foot, pout and start crying himself.

_Oh, my gods! Praise them for I am single. Men are such babies. They are worse than children._

"Wait a day or two to cool down," she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around him, doing her very best to soothe him. "Then go to him and do what I'm doing right now. Just hug him. Don't say anything. You don't even have to say you forgive him or that you're sorry for beating the hell out of him. The hug will say it all and then after kissing and the makeup sex, the two of you will be at ease to talk with one another."

Vincent was silent for several moments. She looked up at him and saw that he looked to be taking in and processing everything she had just told him.

"Now," she said, letting him go. "Can we go back to the beach? I want to get my treasure."

Vincent nodded, picked her up, and they both took to the air again.

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Streams of opalescent light gleamed as he ascended crystal bright pillar steps that led up to the quartz domed temple. All around him memories echoed like naked bones being exposed to the pearly rays of the full moon. He could hear the cheerful laughter, he could taste the salty tears of anguish, he could feel the sharp sting of burning black hatred, and all around him he could see the bliss of hope.

_Oh, such love…_

Upon awakening, for a split second, he had looked through the lime-green eyes of the last Ancient, and he had seen a young man who looked at the world with blue eyes that had witnessed too much sadness. The soul which was shrouded within those bones was naked, trembling as if in a constant winter, battered, bruised, horribly scarred, weeping tears that cut, and that soul was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He had felt his female vessel smile, and he had been about to call his name and reach out to him, but that was when the pain had come from the back and stole the female's breath. The vessel had stiffened, lime-green eyes widening in shock, but the serene smile had remained in order to try and comfort the blue-eyed boy who looked as if he were about to shatter into a billion particles.

_Oh, such pain._

Standing in the center of the temple, he used the light around him to take a beautiful and pleasing shape. He raised his head and lifted his arms, calling upon the very elements in which he controlled. Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water.

Holy.

Holy. Holy. Holy.

The water all around the temple began to glow an emerald green. He began to dance to the sound of The Planet's heartbeat. Shimmering wisps of Lifestream began to rise from the water and swirl around him, filling the temple with brilliant radiance. Within the Lifestream, he could hear a million-million voices. It was all laughter, singing, prayer, happiness, and love. Oh, it was such love.

"**Come." **He spoke with a voice that could command a mountain to bow.

Within the Lifestream, he saw a figure begin to take shape and was walking towards him. The closer this figure got, the more physical it began to look.

"_Hi!" _The tall, spiky, sable-headed young man with sky blue eyes greeted him with a warm smile and friendly wave. _"So, why have you called me here? I was in the middle of a game. I was winning."_

"**Will you walk with him?" **Holy asked the spirit.

The dark headed young man cocked his spiky head to the side, looking like a big eyed puppy. _"Huh?"_

"**He will never die," **Holy told the spirit. **"Mother will never let Cloud Strife die. The Planet needs him. The Planet will keep him forever. He is immortal. Will you walk with him?"**

Those sky blue eyes suddenly looked a million years into the distance and they widened.

"**Will you have him walk alone forever?" **Holy asked, walking up to the tall ghost. **"He will never be able to be with you as he is now. Even if he were to try and destroy himself, as long as one cell remains living, Mother will keep bringing him back. Will you walk with him, Zack Fair?"**

Ghostly tears spilled from those azure skies. _"Chocobo Head…" _He gazed all around him as if trying to hear another voice within the Lifestream.

Another figure stepped from the green glow and Holy took a step back. This figure was beautiful, graceful, and clothed in emerald splendor. She wrapped her glowing white arms around Zack Fair's waist and pressed herself up against his broad back.

"Go, Zack," she spoke, giggling and that empathy was contagious. The air was filled with happiness. "Walk with him."

Holy lowered his head. **"You are not as he is. You are spirit. You will become as Odin, as Bahamut, as Leviathan."**

"_A Summon?" _Zack asked. _"You will make me a Summon?"_

"**Yes." **Holy answered with a smile on his glowing ruby red lips, lifting his head. **"I will make you a Summon only he can call upon. The two of you will be eternally bound to the other. His undying love and devotion to you will grant you physical form and power for a short duration of time in the material world."**

The female behind Zack poked her head over his broad shoulder and those lime-green eyes were smiling at him. It was she who had called and raised him from his deep sleep. The voice of The Planet. She who Mother had taken as her own. Those radiant white arms tightened around Zack.

"_He will always depend on me though," _Zack said, frowning and looking torn. _"He will never learn to stand on his own."_

"**And why should he have to stand on his own, Zack Fair?" **Holy asked him. **"He has stood on his own, and if you do not agree to this, he will always stand on his own, forever. Forever alone and always standing on his own. Only through you will he rise and shine and be the eternal defender of The Planet."**

"_Aerith?"_

"If you choose to walk with Cloud," she answered him. "Like him, you can never come back here until all is done and there is nothing left."

He looked torn.

"**He needs you," **Holy told him. **"He will need you more than ever if he is to do what must be done."**

"_Must be done…"_

Again those eyes were shown a world that would be should he not agree.

"**Choose," **Holy spoke and his voice was love. All around him was warmth, peace, and love. Everything was right. Everything was as it should be. He held out his hand. **"Come."**

"I'll be here," Aerith whispered, slowly releasing him. "I'll always be here watching until we're all together again."

"_I love him," _Zack whispered, slowly lifting his hand and tears were streaming from his eyes. _"I chose to be a hero and save him. I died and left him all alone in the rain. How can he ever forgive me?"_

"**Take my hand," **Holy beamed, filling the world with light. **"All will be well."**

Zack Fair placed his hand within Holy's and the world became song. Holy embraced the weeping spirit and began to spin. He spoke the ancient words of power, feeling himself filling with joy.

He ignored the growing storm as if it were a thousand years away.

**To be continued…**

Please review and tell me what you think. Blessings to all.

~Flora


	6. Chapter 6

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Six**

**/ **Rain fell from the stormy sky as if Heaven itself were crying for him as he slipped over slick black rocks and stumbled through deep puddles of cold, muddy water. Like a zombie, he struggled to make his way up the steep cliff side, and every haphazard step he took, his heart cried out and ached from deep within his trembling chest.

_Please don't leave me! Don't walk away, Zack. Why are you smiling like that for? Stay here with me. You don't have to go by yourself. We can hide together. There is plenty of room in here. They'll give up. Come back! Please come back! DON'T GO!_

Trapped somewhere with the depths of his poisoned mind, his agonized psyche screamed out like thunder when he heard the rapid gunfire echoing down from the top of the cliff.

_ZACKARY!_

His body struggled against the brute force of the elements in order to scale the cliff as quickly as he could. Salty tears along with the rain in his eyes blinded him as he pushed himself to climb upwards faster and faster. He had to get to him. He had to save him.

He reached out and grabbed hold of an exposed plant root that looked secure, but it gave way. His breath escaped him as he felt gravity take hold of him. He fumbled and tumbled down that cliff along with rocks and other debris. He came to a rolling stop on his side in the thick mud. Slowly lifting up his head, he turned his gaze back towards the cliff he'd just fallen down. At the top, he could see bright flashes of light and loud booms that echoed across the sky.

Crawling to his knees, he struggled to stand upright again, and when he finally managed not to fall back down, all he could hear was the gently pouring rain. Everything else had gone perfectly silent.

Had Zack won? Was he coming back to get him?

Once more, he began his ascent, climbing as quickly and as carefully as he could. He climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed. He used his muscles and dug his fingers as if they were made of steel into the sides of the cliff and pushed his way to the top. No amount of pain was going to stop him from reaching the top.

He kept climbing until he was able to run again. He was running and stumbling like a drunk through a field of boulders and high natural pillar formations. Lightning flashed across the sky, striking at something in the distance. His lungs burned and every muscle in his body felt like they were on fire as thunder boomed loudly overhead.

"ZACK!" He shouted, realizing he was in somewhat control of his mind again and the sound of his hoarse voice startled him. He slid and fell to his knees, landing hard on his bruised hands. He took a deep breath in order to calm himself and when he lifted his eyes, he'd wished he'd never been born at all.

There Zack was. A lone figure sprawled in the mud. He was lying close to the edge of a steep drop off and Midgar was shining brightly in the distance. Their very destination so close. Scattered all around the scorched and blackened earth were various pieces of shattered armor and broken weapons.

_No…no…no..no..no..no..NO..NO…NO…NO….NOOOOOOO!_

Cloud crawled across the ground towards him. It felt like everything was suddenly moving in slow motion. He looked down at Zack and found him to be covered in blood. He was cut horribly and there were so many bullet holes in his chest.

"Zack?"

The dark headed swordsmen grunted in pain and his handsome face relaxed a bit when Cloud spoke. He opened his glowing blue eyes and smiled up at him with blood staining his usual white teeth. "Chocobo Head…"

"I don't know what to do," Cloud whispered, moving his hands frantically, but not wanting to cause more damage by adding pressure. "I don't know how to help you…"

"It's all right," Zack grinned, drawing in a deep and what appeared to be a very painful breath. Cloud watched in horror as fresh blood oozed from the holes in Zack's chest. "It's just a flesh wound…I'll get better…" Tears streamed from his blue eyes.

Zack reached out and gently placed his hand on the back of Cloud's spiky, blond head. He pulled him down and had Cloud rest his head against his chest. "You're safe," Zack smiled up at the sky. Cloud let him hold him there, even though he could smell the sharp copper scent of his blood. Zack pressed his head down hard for a second, ruffling the back of his head. "You're safe. That's all that matters now." He coughed and dropped his hand back to the ground and Cloud slowly lifted his head back up. The side of his face was a crimson mask. He was wearing Zack's blood. Zack turned his head to the side and he reached out for his Buster Sword, dragging it over towards Cloud. "Take this."

"I can't take your sword," Cloud whispered, shaking his head. "You're going to need it."

Zack chuckled even though he was silently crying. "I really do love you, Chocobo Head," he said, prompting him to take the blade. "But…you are so blond…sometimes."

Cloud bit his bottom lip and his hands started to tremble even harder. He shook his head and tears began to fall.

Zack was dying. He was going to die. He was going to die out here in this terribly, lonely place. He was dying right before his eyes and there wasn't a goddamn thing he could so to save him.

He reached for the sword and took it with both hands. Zack briefly touched his hand before Cloud pulled the large sword towards himself. A brief second of silence passed between them.

Cloud then dropped the sword and curled up beside Zack, placing an arm around him, trying his very best to hold onto him with all his might. It was as if he were trying to keep Zack's spirit from fleeing it's pain ridden and battered shell.

"I love you," Cloud told him, breathing warmly against his neck. "I love you."

"I'm happy," Zack said, moving his good arm to hold him closer. "Do you…Do you smell flowers, Chocobo Head?"

Cloud laughed. "Of course I can," he lied, tears bleeding straight from his heart. All he could smell was blood and mud.

"Would you look at that?" Zack grinned, blue eyes glazing over. "They're so bright…and yellow…like…"

"Yeah?" Cloud asked, bottom lip trembling.

"They're…all around us," Zack smiled bigger, closing his eyes. "I'll…pick one for you…"

Zack stilled and Cloud lifted his head up and looked at him. "Zack?" He asked, gently touching his bloodstained cheek. "Zack?" His chest was no longer rising and falling. Cloud shook him. "ZACK!"

A wind blew all around him and lightning split the sky.

"DON'T GO!" He cried, putting his head to his chest, not hearing a heartbeat. He squeezed his eyes shut against the torrent and gnashed his teeth. "DON'T YOU FUCKING LEAVE ME HERE!"

No breath. No pulse. No heartbeat. He was all alone now.

He drew Zack up into his arms, holding him close. "I HATE YOU!" He threw back his head and some kind of animal cry escaped him. He rocked back and forth as the rain poured down harder than before. "Please…please come back…I love you…" Zack remained silent and still. All the beauty in the world was dead.

In that moment, if he'd had the power, he'd have punched the world into powder.

He screamed and he screamed and he screamed. **/**

Cloud didn't have much to say at breakfast that morning. His dreams had shaken him pretty badly and he didn't want to ruin anyone's already horrible morning. So, he'd eaten his fruit salad and pretty much just kept to himself at the table. Tifa and Yuffie were still hung over from partying hard last night and Vincent looked as if he'd just taken a delicious sip from someone's throat.

"It has been three days already, Vincent," Yuffie groaned from her corner at the square table, lifting her head out of her half empty bowl of cereal. Milk dripped down her chin, which she paid no mind to at all. "You…"

Vincent left the table faster than anyone could blink and Yuffie moaned, dropping her head back into her cereal. Tifa rolled her eyes and continued to slowly suck on a sausage link. The two of them had gotten so drunk, that they each had to take turns holding back the other's hair while they puked their guts up into the toilet. Tifa had hugged it for much of the night and they were probably going to do the same thing tonight.

"How did you sleep, Cloudy?" Yuffie gurgled from her bowl.

He put his now empty plate down and pushed it away from him across the smooth surface of the table. "I slept good," he lied, giving her a smile she couldn't see from her funny position. "Better than most really."

He'd had a few drinks himself and actually had enjoyed himself at the bar they'd gone to. There had been live music and lots of people drinking and dancing. It had been one big party, and apparently it was like that every single night here in Costa del Sol.

Tifa pulled her sausage link from her mouth, making a loud popping sound with her lips. "You did?" She asked, looking him over as if she didn't quite believe him.

He nodded his head. "Yep." He lied, giving her his warmest smile. "I really think all this sun, snorkeling, and partying is doing the trick." If he wasn't dreaming about crawly bugs, slithering snakes, horny zombies, and dead people in flames trying to eat him, he was always dreaming about Zack dying in his arms. He relived that moment over and over and over in his dreams all the time. It was never going to go away. Nothing was ever going to stop it from happening.

Both girls smiled at him. He honestly couldn't believe Tifa had bought his lie so easily. She must have been really hung over then. He moved to get up, but then sat back down when the voices started to assault his ears again.

_Who the flaming fuck is he?_

_Oh, him? That's the new bitch they recruited._

_Look at that hair. He looks like a porcupine._

_Don't make eye contact with that one._

_That boy is a spooky one._

_I heard he's a snob. He doesn't talk to anyone. Probably thinks he's better or something._

_He sure has a pretty mouth. I got something big to stuff in there._

"Cloud?" Tifa asked, banging on the table with her spoon to get his attention. "Are you hearing them again?"

"Look at me now then!" He yelled at no one as he rose from the table in a burning rage. "I killed all of you, saved the damn planet, and I'm still breathing, so fuck off! Do you not know you're dead? Talk, talk, talk! That's all you cunts do! Well, you're all dead now, so shut the fuck up!" He hurled his plate across the room where it struck the opposite wall with so much force it exploded into powder, leaving a good sized dent in the wall.

"What?" Yuffie snorted milk out her nose, coughing as she lifted her head from her bowl. "What's happening? What's going on? Are we under an attack?"

Tifa looked like her period had came early as Cloud stormed out of the room.

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After easily tying up and gagging Cid's armed men _again_, Vincent stepped into Cid's bedroom on the Highwind with a grace and silence the dead would envy. He couldn't believe those guys had been armed with garlic and sharp sticks and he rolled his eyes at the stupid trap that was supposed to dump a bucket poorly labeled with "Holy Water" over his head.

The blond pilot was sound asleep on his stomach with the sheets halfway down his naked body. He gazed to see that Cid had smartly bolted the bed firmly to the floor this time, so he couldn't easily flip it with him again like he had done the last two mornings.

Cursing under his breath, he glanced around for something else he could do in order to wake the bastard up in a horrible manner. Perhaps he could wake him by putting a pillow over his stupid face, but that would probably piss off everyone. Blowing up an engine sounded like a hoot, but that would probably piss everyone off as well.

So, with a defeated sigh, Vincent decided to do something totally different this time around. He slipped under the covers with Cid and wrapped his pale arms around the muscular captain. Cid mumbled something in his sleep about not wanting any goddamn tea and snuggled closer. The guy was like a furnace and Vincent basked in that body heat.

_I have missed this._

He gently squeezed Cid for a second and then proceeded to close his eyes for a few minutes while he basked in Cid's warmth. He never saw Cid smiling.

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With a critical eye, Rufus looked from Reno to Rude while thumbing his nose at them. He made slow circles around them both as if he were a shark about to attack some unsuspecting prey. He took a step back and cocked his blond head to the side, taking in every detail, every hint that could possibly give away their identity. Finally, he shook his head and smiled in a pleased manner. He knew his TURKS inside and out and even he couldn't see past their disguises. Even though they both looked like two black condoms.

"Can you breathe wearing that?" He asked in some concern, worrying they might fall over from asphyxiation at any moment.

Reno nodded, and stretched a bit, pulling on his outfit in a downward motion. "It likes to ride up into my crotch," he groaned in an annoyed manner, looking as if he were playing with himself.

Rufus stepped further back and admired Rude's work. The both of them reminded him of living shadows or some kind of ninjas clad in skin tight material that hid every trace of their identity. It was truly amazing work. Wherever had he found such excellent material?

"You have done excellent work, Rude," he grinned from ear to ear, blue eyes shining with future victory at hand. "Today is the day."

Both Reno and Rude bowed to him as he walked between them. It was now time for him to get dressed as well. He needed to make himself look like he wasn't the Rufus Shinra Cloud and his team remembered. That way it would throw them off their guard and be more entitled to come to a stranger's aid.

He'd found himself the perfect disguise. It was all raggedy and he'd cover himself with dirt and all that mucky stuff dirty people wore all the time because they didn't know any better.

Before the looking glass, he slowly began to unmake Rufus Shinra right before his steel blue eyes. When he was finished with his meticulous applications, even he couldn't recognize the dirty looking stranger looking back at him from the glass. It made him smile even bigger.

He made his way back out onto deck where his TURKS were lounging and he was pleased to see they'd removed their masks. He made a slight coughing sound and they both spun around to face him.

"Whoa, Pal!" Reno raised his metal rod in a menacing manner at him. "You just boarded the wrong fucking vessel."

Rude stayed his partner's hand. "You look good, Boss."

Rufus was suddenly only half pleased with himself. "How did you know it was me, Rude?" He asked.

"Um," Rude removed his hand from Reno's hand and scratched the back of his bald head. "I'm the one who chose the disguise…Boss."

"Right!" Rufus clapped his dirty hands together, turning his back to them. "Yes you did. Wonderful choice! Even I couldn't recognize myself in the mirror. Well done!"

Both TURKS looked at each other with some worry.

"Now," Rufus exclaimed, spinning back around on his heels to face them. "I need for this little venture to go exactly as planned. Do not allow Cloud the chance to attack. He may very well kill the two of you without meaning to do so. When I'm out cold, escape as quickly as you can and head back to Edge. I'll be in touch the moment I'm on the in."

"Sir!" Both TURKS said, bowing.

Rufus was excited.

"Goddamn it!" Reno hissed, pulling at his crotch.

Rude rolled his eyes and put his mask back on.

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Cloud angrily made his way down to the beach where he plopped down on his back in the warm, white sand. He stretched out in the golden sunlight, letting the gentle waves tickle at his feet. His chest rose and fell with every deep breath he took in order to try and calm himself down. He'd popped some more of his pills before running out of the villa on Tifa and a stumbling Yuffie. They'd been calling his name and holding their heads as if they would explode, but he had ignored them. He didn't want to talk about it. That was the last thing he wanted to do. It would be like reliving it all over again and that wasn't what he wanted.

He needed to do something, anything in order to distract himself from his feelings. He rolled over onto his stomach and rested his head against his arms. He'd noticed in the mirror that he was starting to get dark again and he liked it. He'd also noticed that a lot of guys and girls had been looking at him these past few nights at the bars. A few of them had been brave enough to make subtle passes at him, but he'd shown no interest in their awkward advances. Nobody would ever be able to compare to the one who had been taken away from him, and there was nobody willing to put up with his random crazies.

_Are you going to help me build a sandcastle or are you just going to stand there drooling over how sexy I am without a shirt on?_

He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his fingers deep into the sand.

_Come on, Chocobo Head. Grab a bucket and help me._

"STOP IT!" He yelled, bringing both his fists down really hard, causing sand to explode in a cloud all around him.

He heard a sniffle before him and he quickly lifted his gaze. There was a little boy looking right at him with tears in the biggest eyes he'd ever seen. His eyes widened when the little guy began to cry. He reached out to tell him he was sorry and hadn't known he was there, but the little boy turned and fled.

Cloud watched him vanish over a tall dune and his heart sank like a heavy stone. He'd just scared the shit out of a little child. He dropped his head back down and sighed heavily. He was readying himself for an angry parent to come give him a stern talking down to, but he jumped to his feet when he heard the kid suddenly scream.

He bolted to the top of the dune and looked down. The kid was being pulled down into a sandworm's trap. The little guy was kicking and struggling, throwing sand at the worm, but his efforts weren't doing anything to hinder it from sucking him down into that dark hole.

"Hang on!" Cloud yelled and began sliding down the dune as if he were on a snow sled. He raised his hand and fired off a pool ball sized fireball. It struck the sandworm and the creature released the boy and sank back down into its hole alone.

The boy was on his feet when Cloud reached the bottom of the dune and ran over to him. "Are you okay?" He asked, going down on his knees, looking the child over with critical eyes, and breathed a deep sigh of relief to find the boy had not been bitten.

"Thank you." The little guy whispered, keeping his head lowered.

"Stand back," Cloud told him, walking over to the hole. He positioned his hand palm down and released a glowing hot stream of fire down into that dark hole. A few meters away, the sandworm came to the surface writhing in flames and Cloud quickly incinerated it with fire from his other hand. When he was certain there was no more threat, he cut off the stream of fire with a thought.

The little boy was now looking at him with the biggest eyes he'd ever seen and that was when he really took notice of the kid. He had short, spiky black hair and deep blue eyes. A sharp pang stabbed his heart because it made him wonder if this was what Zack had looked like at such a young age.

"WOW! That was so totally AWESOME!" The little boy yelled, running up to him. "You're a superhero!"

_Superhero? Yeah, right!_

The boy wrapped his arms around Cloud's right leg and hugged it tightly. "You're amazing!"

_Amazing? No._

The boy grinned up at him and Cloud noticed he had a small gap between his two front teeth. "Where are your parents?" Cloud asked, gently trying to dislodge him from his leg.

"Back at the inn," the boy answered, suddenly looking really ashamed for some reason. "I snuck away in order to come look for shells."

_Of course you did._

"Come on," Cloud said, dragging his leg with the boy still attached to it as if he were a little monkey. "I'll take you back to them."

"Aw! That's no fun." The kid whined, still not releasing him. "Come on! Teach me what you just did. That was so totally cool! I want to shoot fire from my eyes. Teach me how to do that."

Cloud actually laughed out loud at his antics. "I don't think that's actually possible."

The boy whined again.

The two of them suddenly froze in their tracks when a loud explosion caused them both to flinch. Cloud quickly lifted his head and turned his gaze towards the harbor just in time to see the lighthouse go up in black flames. He lifted the gawking boy up into his arms and began running when he heard the shouts and screams. People were frozen in shock and pointing. Some were running.

"TERRORISTS!"

"WEEZE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"NOT THIS BULLSHIT AGAIN!"

He ran up the sandstone steps just in time to see two women come running out of the inn. They were both looking around with panic filled eyes and they both suddenly spotted Cloud. "Tony!" They both yelled, running up to him, and Cloud released the boy into their custody. "Where have you been?" The other one fussed over him. "What did we tell you about wondering off?"

"What's going on?" Cloud asked, trying to make sense of the chaos around him.

The woman holding Tony spoke. "We just saw the news a few minutes ago. Shinra warehouses on the outskirts of Edge were just bombed and now something just blew up here."

_Shinra…_

"Get down to the beach," Cloud told them. "People are gathering there. It should be safer."

He took off running towards the harbor and he heard Tony shout from behind. "Go get'em, Superdude!"

_Superdude?_

People were racing by him and he ran faster when he heard another loud explosion.

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Cid fell out of bed with a grunt and Vincent threw open the side window, looking out across the harbor at the burning lighthouse. This was not how he wanted to start off his day. He had wanted to get the hell out of here before Cid had the chance to wake up, but it was too late now.

"What the fuck's going on?" Cid mumbled, getting to his feet, scratching his backside before stretching onto the tips of his toes.

Vincent whirled around on him like a dark thunderstorm. "Put your clothes on!" He snapped, rushing by him. "I think we're under attack." He did his very best to ignore Cid's morning wood, while he tossed clothes at the pilot.

Cid caught his pants and began hopping around as he got dressed as quickly as he could.

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Yuffie grabbed her head and moaned. "Who ordered a demolition squad this early in the morning time?" She whined, walking outside behind Tifa. "Can't they see I'm dying?"

Tifa walked across the veranda and saw people running all over the place. Most of them were making their way down to the beach.

"TERRORISTS!" A woman screamed, diving headfirst into some bushes.

"WEEZE ALL GONNA DIE!" A man shouted, jumping over a wall.

The drag queen from the bar last night got her basket of fruits knocked out of her hands and she made a sour face at the bottom of the steps. "NOT THIS BULLSHIT AGAIN!"

She spotted Cloud running by at full speed while barefoot. He looked to be making a beeline straight for the harbor. "Cloud!" She yelled after him and grabbed her head as it pounded. He was too far ahead to hear her.

She spun around and grabbed Yuffie by the wrist when another explosion went off somewhere close by. "Grab your weapons," she said, leading her back into the villa. "We have to get to the harbor and fast."

Yuffie complied and ran to equip her stuff.

_This is bullshit! _Tifa fumed as she put on her fighting gloves. _So much for a peaceful vacation. And it was going so well, too._

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The violet sphere of glowing light vanished before her and Marlene opened her eyes, discovering she was standing in a darkened alleyway. She stumbled forward and reached out to steady herself against a cement wall. It took her several moments to orient herself and to catch her breath, because she felt like she'd been running for her life. She took a deep breath to clear foggy brain and she could smell smoke in the air. A few people ran by the alley, shouting about a fire and that people needed to evacuate the area immediately.

She pulled her hand away from the wall and saw that she'd left a print of it. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, until she was pressed up against another wall. Her hands were coated in a dark red substance. It was thick and smelled of copper.

"What?" She asked nobody, looking at her hands in horror. She moved forward and stumbled out of the alley and saw the bright glow of flames in the distance. It was the Shinra warehouse district and it was all in flames.

Her eyes found a puddle of water and she quickly went over to it. She knelt down and began to wash her hands off as fast as she could. The red stuff was even under her nails. She scrubbed them hard.

_What's going on? How did I get here? How did I get paint all over my hands?_

The only things she could remember was leaving school with Denzel. They had both been walking home together. They'd been talking about meeting at the arcade, and that was when she started to draw blanks. She couldn't remember anything after waving goodbye to him.

_Home. I gotta get home._

She turned away from the red puddle and started to run.

**To be continued…**

Another chapter finished. YAY!

I was doing some reading today and found that people are talking about there being a remake of Final Fantasy VII. I remember reading about Squre Enix saying they weren't going to do that until they made a game that surpassed Final Fantasy VII. Well, I just have this to say. They might as well just give up. Nothing will ever surpass the spirit that lives within Final Fantasy VII.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Leave me a review if you do.

~Flora


	7. Chapter 7

**Sentient Love**

Flora_Winters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII and I'm making no money here either. All of this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary:** Dreams lead Cloud back to The Forgotten City where he comes into contact with a spirit made flesh. A blast from the past wants this young avatar for their own devious designs and it is up to the ex-SOLDIER to protect him at all costs. Language, MM, OC, Violence

**Chapter Seven**

Reno had been signaling to Rude to begin the chase the very moment the explosion occurred right in front of them. It had caught them both completely off their usual guard. Not either of them had been expecting such a thing to transpire on their watch. The both of them had been running after the boss when this beam of dark light lanced down from the sky more vibrant than a bolt of lightning, striking the lighthouse right down its center. The entire harbor shook from the explosion and stone and glass flew all over the place. The force had been so strong, the both of them had been thrown backwards off their feet, where they hit the ground rolling for several yards as stone and melted shards of glass rained down on them.

"Goddamn it!" Reno groaned, sitting up and looking over at Rude. "What the fuck just happened? Was that part of the plan? I don't think that was part of the plan."

"Of course it wasn't part of the plan," Rude moaned, sitting up as well and looked around. "Where's the boss?"

The resulting blast had sent Rufus through a stone wall, where he fell several feet into some bushes on his back, getting himself knocked completely unconscious. People who saw him crash through the wall took off running in a screaming panic, leaving the blond where he'd fallen.

"I don't see him," Reno said, rising to his feet and began brushing himself off as black flames burned within the remaining structure of the lighthouse. "Do you see him? Where is he?"

Rude tried to rise to his feet, but hissed under his breath and fell back to the ground. Reno knelt down beside him and quickly discovered that his right ankle was laying at a very odd angle. "Oh shit," he said, checking it much to his partner's discomfort. "That's totally broken."

"Perfect," Rude cursed. "Just lovely."

"You're going to have to wait here for a few minutes," Reno told him, doing his best to make his partner as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. It was a good thing people had vacated the harbor earlier. The last thing he needed was a bunch of screaming tourists. "I am going to go look for him."

"DUCK!" Rude shouted, throwing himself at Reno and they both went down on the ground again. A fireball the size of a giant beach ball went roaring just a few inches over their heads, hitting the ground a few feet from the two of them. It exploded upon impact and the heat from it scorched the very air near them. Reno lifted his head up and saw a very angry looking Cloud Strife standing on top of the harbor wall, looking down at them with glowing blue eyes.

"Well, well, well," Cloud said. The both of his hands were burning with invisible flames. "What do we have here? Terrorists?"

Rude groaned in pain and Reno positioned himself in front of his injured partner. He knew better than to say anything because of his recognizable accent. The last thing he wanted to do was cause the blonde to attack them and really mean it.

_Shit. Now how the hell am I gonna find the boss with him here already? Damn. Damn! Damn!_

"Did the two of you do that?" Cloud asked, pointing towards the lighthouse with a fiery hot index finger.

Reno shook his head, hoping that was a clear enough answer for him. Sweat was rolling down his backside.

"Hmm," the blond said, tapping his chin with the same index finger. "For some odd reason…I think I may actually believe you…and I don't know why either…"

Reno breathed a moment's sigh of blessed relief, but knew better than to take his eyes off the capricious fighter. Cloud was unstable and was capable of almost anything. Rude had pretty much proven that terrifying fact by almost losing his life.

Cloud jumped down off the wall, landing on bare feet. Reno pursed his lips behind his black mask. The blond was wearing yellow swimming trunks. For someone batshit insane, Cloud looked really, really good.

"Why are the two of you dressed like that?" Cloud asked them, folding his muscular arms across his naked chest.

_Well, shit! What do I do now? I can't talk. He'll know it's me. And if he doesn't kill me, the boss sure as hell will._

"Lord have mercy!" Rude shrieked with a high pitched voice, sounding extremely feminine and stereotypical. "I do declare! Why I believe I've done gone and busted my ankle. I surely does."

The spiky headed blond quickly looked taken aback. The look on his face was like he didn't know whether to be immediately concerned or to laugh out loud while helping. The poor guy looked horribly confused.

Reno turned away from Cloud and glared hard at Rude through his mask and whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I am trying to get us out of this mess," Rude hissed right back at him, squealing some more.

Reno wanted to just fall over and lay there. They were always getting themselves into a fucking mess. It never failed. Something always went wrong. Their plans were always so well thought out, brilliant even, but then…it was like the universe just enjoyed fucking them over. It always happened. Every time!

"Do you know what happened?" Cloud asked, walking over to where they were.

Reno quickly shook his head again.

"Does it look like I know what transpired here, young man?" Rude griped, continuing to talk as if he were a woman in distress. "We came here to escape our religious order, get nearly blown up, and then you had to go and fire a…fireball at our heads…I'm so mortified! And people wonder why we keep ourselves completely covered."

"Why do you keep yourselves completely covered?" Cloud asked him.

"So rude little boys such as yourself can't see how mortified we always look!" Rude shrieked at him. "My leg is broken!"

Cloud knelt down and scratched the back of his head. "I thought it was your ankle…"

"Ankle! Leg! Same difference!" Rude snapped, sounding even more ridiculous. "I'm not a doctor!"

Reno needed to find the boss, but he didn't want to leave Rude in Cloud's hands. What if Cloud suddenly recognized him?

"Do you not talk?" Cloud asked, looking right at Reno with narrowed eyes.

"Vow of silence," Rude quickly said, saving the redhead from having to think of an answer and having to voice it. "Ever since he discovered himself to be one of them homosensuals…he's taken a vow of silence in order to…in order to preserve the sanctity of…the sanctity of his virginity."

Reno just glared at him.

"Nasty business lust and all that," Rude added just to be spiteful. "Especially a sinful looking place like this. Ass and dick hanging out all over the place."

The blond actually rolled his eyes and began to carefully check Rude's ankle. It was definitely broken. Reno sighed when the diagnosis was given. Rude was always getting himself broken anymore.

"Cloud!" A loud voice shouted from above and Reno looked to see Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind descending from the airship. The pilot had his arms wrapped around Vincent's waist as they soared down from a couple hundred feet.

_Oh, great…_

"Cloud!" Another voice followed, and Reno looked to see Tifa and Yuffie come running out across the harbor to where they all were. The both of them were dressed for war.

_Perfect. Now there are five of them and still no sign of the boss. Thank you, Universe. This is just wonderful._

He rolled his eyes, wondering if the boss was watching all this from somewhere.

"You're going to need a doctor," Cloud told Rude.

"No, no," Rude quickly said, shaking his head. "That won't be possible. Doctors are against our

Religion."

"I thought you said the two of you came here to escape your religion?" Cloud asked.

"Boy! You need to mind your own business now!" Rude snapped at him. "How dare you be so narrow minded." He grabbed Reno by the shoulder and had the redhead lift him up. "We will just be on our way. I do believe we've had enough of this place. I know I sure have. It is worse than our training camps." When Reno got him standing up, Rude hissed into his ear. "Get me the fuck outta here now."

"What about the boss?" Reno whispered back. "He could be hurt…"

"I can't do anything like this," Rude told him. "Get me back to the yacht and then go look for him."

Reno nodded.

"We'll just be on our way now," Rude grinned from behind his mask and him and Reno turned away. "Can you believe this place? You hear such nice things and then you damn near get your face blown off by some stupid ass teenager during a crisis. It is absolute bullshit I tell you. I want my fucking money back. There should be a law against shit like this happening to decent folk."

Reno couldn't help but snicker. Rude was being as rude as he could to Cloud. His own little payback for Cloud nearly killing him he bet. He then looked to the right to see that there was a hole in the stone wall that separated the city from the harbor.

"Was that there before?" He asked Rude.

Rude shrugged. "Let's check it out."

"HEY!" A loud voice shouted from behind, making them both nearly jump right out of their costumes. Reno turned his head and looked to see Yuffie throwing herself around Cloud's neck.

"You can come back and check," Rude said. "We can't risk being found out. The boss will understand."

Reno didn't like it anymore than Rude did, but he complied. He told Rude to hang on tight.

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The five of them watched the two strangers vanish from sight and Cloud scratched the back of his head. He then turned and looked at the burning remains of the lighthouse. It had been completely demolished. It looked just like a skeleton of its former self.

"Okay," Yuffie said, cocking her head to the side. "What the hell just happened?"

She still looked really green.

Cloud dropped his hand to his side and shook his head. He shrugged his naked shoulder and sighed. "I honestly don't know."

Tifa was giggling.

"Well, well, well," she said, slyly slipping right up beside Vincent. "I see the two of you have kissed and made up."

The dark headed gunman glared down at her with those spooky amber-red eyes of his and didn't answer. Cloud noticed that Cid looked really pleased with himself, but quickly changed expression when Vincent turned his head to look right at the pilot.

"Well," Cid said, beginning to walk towards the lighthouse. "I reckon we should put this fire out." He lifted his left hand as he walked and it began to glow a pale blue. He was going to use ICE.

Yuffie followed after him. "I'll help."

"And what about you?" Tifa asked, sliding up next to Cloud, playfully bumping him with her shoulder. "Are you okay? You ran away from us."

"I'm fine now," he lied, but felt really embarrassed about his earlier outburst. "I just needed some air. That's all."

The look on her face told him she didn't believe a word he was saying, but he was totally fine with that. He didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to and she knew that plain as day.

"Do you think this was just an accident?" She asked, following along beside him.

Cloud let her take his hand. "I don't know…some Shinra warehouses outside Edge have been blown up as well…this could be related…"

"I'll go see if there are any witnesses," Vincent said, floating off in the opposite direction.

Tifa watched him go. "They'll take one look at him and run screaming through the nearest wall."

That made Cloud laugh.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie yelled. They both looked to see her at the wall with half her body sticking out. "Someone's been hurt pretty bad over here!"

Cloud and Tifa ran over.

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There was only one doctor in Costa del Sol and she wasn't even in town. She wouldn't be returning until sometime next week; something to do with a rare outbreak of Chocopox, and the rest of the information was classified due to health risks and all that messy legal stuff. So, Cloud had no choice but to bring the homeless looking guy into his home and treat him the best he could there. He was leaning over the guy, using his RESTORE materia in order to heal the nasty looking gash he had across his forehead. The more Cloud looked at him, the more he thought he knew him, but even darker thoughts passed across the top surface of his mind.

_Maybe…if I'd had materia like this…Zack might have…maybe I could have bought him more time…maybe…_

He shook his head and continued at his work. Vincent was talking with the others that were behind him. He was telling them how a few people had actually seen a black beam of light come down from out of the sky and strike the lighthouse dead center. It had literally raised the whole thing to the ground. It also turned out that an eye witness had seen the same thing happen to the Shinra Warehouse District just outside of Edge. Multiple beams of black light had come down from the sky and blew up everything.

"Luckily," Vincent said, taking a seat beside Cid on the sofa and allowing the pilot to put an arm around him. "There were no casualties to be reported."

"Well, that's some good news," Tifa said, stepping up beside Cloud. "How is he doing?"

"For someone who looks this filthy," Cloud said, moving his glowing green hand back and forth across the blond guy's healing forehead. "He doesn't smell at all. Is that odd?"

"Hmm, now that I actually look at him," she said, making a strange face. "He does look somewhat familiar to me…"

"I was just now thinking the exact same thing," Cloud told her, placing his hand on top of the healing gash and closed his eyes. He needed to focus and make sure the guy's brain wasn't swelling anymore. He'd already taken care of the minor internal bleeding.

Tifa finally just shrugged and went to take a seat beside Yuffie. "Still wanna get smashed tonight?" She asked the girl.

"After what just happened here?" Yuffie asked, giving the older girl an incredulous look and then snorted rather loudly. "Oh, hell yeah!"

Cloud glanced over and saw that Vincent was resting his dark head against Cid's chest and Cid had his arms wrapped around him in a snuggly kind of way. He felt a sharp pang prick his heart and he removed his hand from the bum's forehead. He suddenly felt more lonely than ever.

"Hey," Cloud spoke softly, gently patting the guy on the cheek, which was surprisingly soft and smooth. "You're alive. Can you wake up for me?"

The blond made a small noise and tried to slap Cloud's hand away. Steel blue eyes slowly began to open and they blinked several times. Cloud gazed down into them and then he stood up straight, taking a small step back as the guy carefully tried to sit up on his own without being offered any help.

A molten hot anger swelled in up in Cloud's chest.

"You!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes to snakelike slits. "I knew I recognized you."

Everyone was on their feet.

"Rufus."

The blond looked up at Cloud with a vacant stare, then slowly looked over everyone else in the room, and then glanced blankly back at Cloud again. The blond blinked his blue eyes several times, looking as if he were having a hard time focusing them. Finally, he did say something, but it wasn't what Cloud or the rest of the party expected.

"Who?"

**To be continued…**

**Hello, Everyone! YAY! Another chapter completed. Me so happy. I hope everyone who reads this is well and happy. If you enjoy this new chapter, please feel free to let me know. I'll greatly appreciate your reviews. I think I really love Rude. He's great. **

**Also, many thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. You are all the reason why I keep updating.**

**~Flora**


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